subject: Disposition of the Cremated Remains [print this page] Disposition of the Cremated Remains Disposition of the Cremated Remains
Disposition of the Cremated Remains
In the United States, the funeral industry is collectivelyopposed to the scattering of the cremated remains on land orwater, a practice widely followed in England. The Englishpractice of pulverizing the bone fragments left from the cremation process is opposed in this country by the funeralindustry, and remains usually are left deliberately large andheavy enough to discourage the scattering of ashes. Californialaw requires that all interments or disposition of humanremains in cities shall be in a cemetery, and permits disposalby burial at sea from an elevation hi excess of 5,000 feet over the ocean and at least three miles from shore; it also providesthat the remains must be removed from their container, andthat such burial at sea must be accomplished within 45 daysafter cremation, and that within 50 days after cremation thedisposal must be reported to the local registrar of births anddeaths.
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The statutes of Alaska, Indiana, and Washington are somewhat similar and where similar statutes exist, the scattering ofremains, except in rural localities, is of doubtful legality. Be fore taking any such procedure, even in compliance with the wishes of the decedent, an attorney should be consulted.
The codified laws of the several states show surprisinglylittle legislative activity concerning the cremation of humanremains. This may be accounted for in some degree by thefact that the legislatures have conferred broad grants of poweron local departments or health to make rules concerning funerals, embalming, graves, cemeteries, and for the disposal of the dead generally. It probably is accounted for also by theapparent feeling that the ordinary operations of the VitalStatistics Acts provide sufficient safeguards against the cremation of those who have met death under suspicious circumstances. These Acts, afford some safeguard hi that they require that a death certificate be obtained from a physicianwho attended the deceased in his last illness, or from theproper public official in the case of an unattended death. Theyalso require that burial or burial transit or removal permitsnot be issued until a valid death certificate has been obtained.In most states, however, burial and cremation are treated alikewith no special provision concerning the latter.
Since local regulations are so varied and at times so broad,specific information should be sought from the local authorities regarding embalming, cremation, and transportation. Itmay be noted that in Hawaii cremation is required in some instances, as a matter of public health and safety.
