GETTING THE CREEPS OUT

Ever Wonder How A Stolen Car Gets Cleaned After The Crooks Are Gone

Coquitlam, BC. - Using a blue light and swab, safety technician Julie
Dalkin from BioSolutions searches for bodily fluids after a stolen
car has been returned. (ROB KRUYT/SUN MEDIA PHOTO)

Do you know where your car has been?

It's not something many people think about after their car has been
stolen but thieves have a tendency to leave behind a laundry list of
horrors in cars; everything from loaded weapons and drugs to disease
and booby-traps.

But before a stolen car is returned to its owner, it's one company's
job to make sure none of these hazards make it into your life.

"One-third of all stolen cars have hazardous materials in them," said
Beatrice Sallis, leader of business development and safety at
BioSolutions, a Maple Ridge bio recovery company founded in 1997. "We
make sure none of them are there when the driver gets their car back."

BioSolutions' technicians, who are hired by an insurance company, are
often the first set of hands on a stolen car after it has been
retrieved and - armed with biohazard suits and forensic techniques -
they're tasked with eliminating the dangers left by thieves.

Considering a majority of auto thefts are drug related, it's not
surprising Sallis and her technicians find hazards directly related
to drug use. They still go far beyond a simple needle lying on the floor mat.

"A lot of people have the impression that needles are the real
dangers, but they are the easiest to spot and get rid of," she said.
"It's the other hidden dangers that we really need to look for."

Other common hazards found in cars are: Semen, stolen cars are often
used for prostitution; drugs and weapons tucked under seats.

While the job of searching every inch of a car with a fine-tooth comb
for invisible dangers seems daunting, Sallis said that after seeing
over 35,000 stolen vehicles, BioSolutions has gotten incredibly
efficient at it.

"One of the most dangerous things we find are blood sprays," said
Sallis. "When a drug user shoots up the blood can spray quite far and
ends up on the headliner. The blood could contain Hepatitis B, which
can survive up to 14 days in a dry state. Anyone with an open cut can
contract it."

Some thieves have even gone to the trouble of turning your car into a
weapon against you.

"It's not uncommon we find broken off needles in the seats that were
left there intentionally so that if someone sits down they get
pricked," said Sallis. "People also put needles in the sun visor so
when the driver folds it down, it falls on their head."

Now that you know where your car has been, you can rest assured it's
safe because of BioSolutions and worry about other things when you
get behind the wheel, albeit a bit creeped out.