Will Yakowicz
INC.com
Drug Labs, Hoarding, and Murder: The Crime Scene Cleanup Industry Is Booming
The opioid epidemic is raging across America and powerful narcotics like fentanyl are causing tens of thousands of fatal overdoses each year. It’s also spawned a niche industry–that’s now making a killing.
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In November 19, 2017, first responders raced to a home in Coventry, Rhode Island to treat an unresponsive infant. But, it was too late; by the time the medics brought the baby to a nearby hospital, the 8-month-old was already dead. Later, the parents were arrested and charged with felony child neglect after a toxicology report found the powerful opioid painkiller fentanyl was present in the child’s system.
When a tragedy like this happens, someone has to clean up what remains at the scene, whether it’s blood, body fluid, or deadly drugs. In this case, Michael Wiseman was called to the home to get rid of all traces of fentanyl, a particularly potent opioid that, if inhaled or comes in contact with the mouth or eyes, can cause someone to overdose, according to the Center for Disease Control.
“I’ve been in the business for 30 years and I have never seen anything like this,” says Wiseman, whose Easton, Massachusetts-based crime scene cleanup company, Trauma Services, was commissioned to clean up the grim aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. “Fentanyl has changed the ballgame.” .. [READ FULL ARTICLE]