Crematoriums Under Close Scrutiny as States Seek Tougher Regulations
By: Source: AARP Bulletin Today Date Posted: 2006-07-03 09:29:42.085644-04:00
Spurred by the discovery of hundreds of desecrated, uncremated bodies near a Georgia cremation facility, state lawmakers and funeral directors nationwide are scrambling to spare families from similar occurrences in their own areas.
Many states—among them Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin—are considering bills to regulate the cremation industry or to beef up existing rules.
"Cremation is not a disposal service," says Jack Springer, executive director of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), a Chicago-based group of cremationists and funeral home directors. While CANA doesn't advocate cremation over burial, Springer says, "we want to eliminate the idea that if you're cremated, no one cares what happens to you."
| Chart by Wayne Vincent |
That's important because cremation as an option is growing. CANA projects that, by 2025, more than half of all people who die in the United States will be cremated. In 2000, at least 621,494 cremations occurred, accounting for 26 percent of deaths—up from 10 percent in 1980 and 17 percent in 1990.
"We need to look at consumer protections in the cremation and funeral industry," says Sharon Hermanson, senior policy adviser for AARP's Public Policy Institute.
She says more comprehensive cremation laws are needed to address issues such as licensing, inspections, recordkeeping, disposition and identification of remains and penalties for violations. As a result it's getting more difficult for consumers to know what to expect, she says.
Many states are trying to ensure that consumers get fair treatment by considering measures such as licensing requirements and surprise inspections of crematoriums.
Even in states like California—where current laws regulating crematories and the funeral industry are considered relatively strong—legislatures are toughening enforcement standards.
'DEATH CARE' UNDER MICROSCOPE
While the horrific situation in Georgia drew national attention, state regulators are finding it is only one example of a number of problems with crematory operators nationwide.
Though many funeral directors insist that incidents like the one in Georgia are rare, consumers like Kimberly Carroll of Phoenix have reason for concern.
Carroll is one of several individuals who have filed suit against Service Corp. International, a funeral-service company based in Houston, Texas, alleging fraudulent and unethical practices. According to these complaints, human remains in the care of SCI were misidentified, mistakenly incinerated or disfigured by slipshod embalming.
Carroll claims her father's death certificate and cremated remains were mistakenly given to someone outside the family and that her sister's name was forged on a form saying her father had been properly identified.
Carroll says SCI has admitted the forgery, but she and her sister still have no way of knowing if the body SCI cremated was their father's.
Even more egregious charges have been brought by the Los Angeles County district attorney against a Lake Elsinore, Calif., crematorium owner believed to have sold body parts to medical schools without the knowledge of the families or regulators.
And Florida last year acted against a crematory's operators after an investigation found misplaced bodies that had not been cremated.
STATES ACT ON GROWTH
The illegal and unethical practices by some crematory operators are particularly alarming considering the increasing use of cremation services.
Fueling that growth is greater awareness of cremation; its relatively low cost compared with burial; and the growing number of older people who retire far away from their hometowns and family burial sites.
To meet the demands of the fast-growing industry, states are considering new or tougher laws. In most states, crematories are owned by funeral homes or cemeteries and are usually exempt from surprise inspections.
"Now, I'm sure all that will change—all crematories will come under state inspections," says Robert Fells, general counsel for the International Cemetery and Funeral Association in Reston, Va.
Here's what some states are doing:
- California passed a law last year requiring the licensing of all crematories—not just those affiliated with cemeteries or funeral homes.
- In Georgia, lawmakers are trying to close a loophole that granted the Tri-State Crematory—accused of piling up bodies designated for cremation—exemption from inspection.
- A Pennsylvania lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require licensing and inspections for the state's 62 cremation facilities.
- Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Vermont and Wisconsin are debating or have passed similar rules.
Some states need to bolster existing laws. Steven V. Sklar, director of Maryland's Office of Cemetery Oversight, says many states only have environmental rules about "what goes up the smokestack" and none on licensing and inspections.
At least a dozen states have no meaningful monitoring laws at all. As many as 23 states have "comprehensive" laws, but experts question how protective they really are.
Budget cuts are likely to hamper some states in strengthening crematory laws. Still, they must respond to consumers shaken by the events in Georgia, says Sklar, and left wondering whether cremation is an option they want to pursue.
Al Karr is a Washington-based freelance writer.
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