Home Funerals/Green Burials: An Alternative to Conventional
Funerals
Pamela Ortner, RN, MS, CHPN MAOHN
September 28, 2012
Michigan Association Occupational Health Nurses
Annual ConferenceGrand Rapids, MI
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION: To receive contact hours, participants must attend the entire program and complete an evaluation. Please return your completed evaluation forms to a MAOHN Associate at the end of the presentation.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:All activity planners for this educational activity have reported norelevant financial relationships with commercial interests.
Presenters for this educational activity have reported no relevantconflict of interest.
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NON-ENDORSEMENT OF PRODUCTS:The presence of commercial exhibits during the presentation does notimply endorsement by MAOHN or any other parties.
Objectives: By the end of the presentation you should be able to:
Self-identify personal values/wishes for after-life care
Describe one difference between conventional & greener funeral/ritual and burial process in the U.S.
List one Michigan-specific legal requirement for burial.
List two themes that emerged from survey of participants in home funerals
Who We Are •Nurse for 35 years•Hospice Nurse Educator/Quality Outcomes Specialist•MS Community/ Occupational Health from U of M•CHPN•UM VPP COHSE; explored alternatives to conventional funerals and burials•Public/environmental health for 24 years
PAM
What is considered a conventional viewing, funeral and burial?
Chemical embalming/cosmetic restoration
Casket Outer burial container or vault Cremation Urn
What would you like to happen?
What would you like your room or space to look like in your final days,
hours, moments…
What type of ritual, celebration, or ceremony would you like to take
place after you pass on…?
Death is a natural process
Until the modern era, our formaldehyde-free bodies were kept in the home for viewing for several
days, then laid in the ground, returning to the earth
History of Embalming US
•Embalming surgeons in Civil War•President Lincoln•Funeral homes and embalmers began to flourish beginning of 20th century
Reasons to Embalm It slows body decay by fixing
cellular proteins Restores “life-like” appearance Provides a “memory picture” Family/loved ones must view the
body in order to process death “Setting the features” No evidence that it is necessary to
protect human health
The process of embalming Massaging and manipulation of extremities to
“break rigor mortis” “Stay cream” and eyecaps on eyes to shut
them or super glue Closing jaw with thread or wire Absorbent material or mastic in cheeks and
gums “Seal cream” for the lips Internal organs are punctured and removed Area flooded with formaldehyde and phenol Arteries injected with formaldehyde and phenol Cavities packed with absorbent material or
cotton
What’s wrong with a conventional burial?
Absolutely nothing!• CHOICE is key!
Did you know…• A body does not have to embalmed?• A body does not need to be buried in
a casket or a vault?• You do not have to purchase a casket
or coffin from the funeral home?• Funeral homes are required by law to
show you their price list
Did you know? Home funerals are legal in most states? Embalming is not required in Michigan
(except for a few limited situations)? That you may keep a loved one’s body at
home for several days after death? Cleansing of the body as well as viewing
and ceremony can take place in the home with as little assistance from the funeral home as one desires, as is done in just about every nation in the world -- with the exception of the US, Canada and a half-dozen others?
A casket is not required by law, but most cemeteries require it along with a vault
Michigan Specific Requirements
Death certificate: signed by Physician, Medical Examiner and Funeral Director
Estates Code (700.3206): Supervision of body disposition of body:
funeral director Cremation: death certificate filed to
obtain cremation authorization by Medical Examiner
Transportation of body: burial transit permit from funeral director/county clerk who certified death certificate
Who has the right to make funeral decisions? Spouse Children Parents Siblings Nieces/nephews Grandparents Aunts/Uncles Cousins Personal representative in will Guardian or appointed
representative
Why would someone choose to have a home funeral/green burial?
Personal reasons: To care for one’s own loved ones. More intimate alternative.
Lower cost: no embalming, high cost caskets, or concrete vaults. If the family supplies their own shroud or coffin, the cost can be further reduced (Gonzalez & Hereira, 2008)
Environmental Impacts: Annually over 30 million board feet of hardwood and 90,000 tons of steel in caskets, 17,000 tons of steel and copper in vaults, and 1.6 million tons of reinforced concrete in vaults
Economic Impacts Non-declinable basic services fee ~
$1,817. Removal/transfer to funeral home ~
250. Embalming ~
628. Other prep ~ 200. Use of facilities for viewing ~
395. Funeral ceremony ~
450. Use of hearse ~
275. Use of service car/van
125. Printing
125. Metal casket ~
2,295. Vault ~
1,195.
$7755.
Occupational impacts of embalming
Arsenic discontinued in early 1900s Formaldehyde use first recorded in 1962 Approximately 3.5 gallons embalming
fluid used for each bodyLong term exposure: Probable human carcinogen (EPA, 1987) Known human carcinogen (IARC,
National Toxicology Program, 2011) Possible sites: brain, nasal cavities, lung,
pancreas and lymph nodes Possible neurotoxin
Environmental impacts of cemetery burial Additional binders, glues, stains,
varnishes, and fabrics to produce and finish caskets
Many of these materials have an adverse impact on the environment, leaching dangerous chemicals into watersheds
Sourcing of exotic hardwoods for caskets depletes rain forests
Carbon footprint for cement, caskets, urns that come from a distance
Environmental impacts of cremation > 1,000,000 crematoriums in U.S. Uses less resources than burial Fossil fuel consumption Lack of pollution prevention devices,
especially older facilities Particulate matter emissions Vaporized mercury is emitted from dental
amalgam fillings; extraction of teeth pre-cremation desirable
Dioxin contamination when body is burned(IARC, known human carcinogen, 1997)
The Funeral Rule (1984) FTCYou have the right: to choose the funeral goods and services you want
(with some exceptions). to ask for and receive a General Price List that states
your right to choose what you want in writing. receive a disclosure from the funeral provider if state
or local law requires you to buy any particular good or service, describing the funeral goods and services you have selected and with a reference to the specific law.
to bring to the funeral home a casket or urn you bought elsewhere (funeral provider cannot refuse to handle or charge you a fee to do that).
ask and receive an alternative container from a funeral provider who offers cremations
to refuse to pay for embalming or cremation that your family didn’t authorize, unless it’s required by state law.
What is a “green burial”?
Green burial — caring for the dead without the use of toxins and materials
that are not biodegradable Green Burial Council: Nonprofit organization
First standards and eco-certification program Burial Grounds Funeral Homes Products Cremation Disposition Programs
.
Types of “green” burial grounds Hybrid Burial Grounds
Low-Impact Burial Grounds Natural Burial Grounds Conservation Burial Grounds
Hybrid Burial Grounds
Conventional cemeteries offering the option of burial without vaults or embalming, and that allow for the use of eco-friendly burial containers.
Low impact burial groundsGreen Burial Council certification:
a) Prohibits use of burial vaults, b) Prohibits burial of bodies embalmed with toxic chemicals, c) Burial containers made from toxic/nonhazardous materials, d) Reduced pesticide use.
Natural burial grounds
Low-Impact Burial Ground practices/protocols
Naturalistic appearance, Use of native plants and
materials Landscaping patterns
compatible with regional ecosystems
Conservation burial grounds Natural Burial Ground
practices/protocols Legitimate land conservation Protect in perpetuity an area of land
designated only for conservation Established conservation
organization holds conservation easement or deed restriction guaranteeing long-term stewardship
In Michigan Ridgeview Memorial Gardens - Hybrid
Burial Ground0-5151 8th Ave SWGrandville MI 49418 616-249-8439 www.ridgeviewmemorialgardens.com
Themes that emerged from survey of participants in home funerals
Washing and preparing the body Keeping the body at home Continuing relationship Caring for deceased as they had in
life Positive community event Spontaneity of ceremony/ritual (Wilson, 2009)
Home-based celebrations bring death out of the shadows
and into the light of life.
To care for a loved one in this manner can be a choice, a gift to the survivorsthat may create a more meaningful,
lighter ecological, occupational and economic footprint for those who want to honor
the final transition in this way.
Alternatives
Eye/organ donation Michigan Eye Bank:
www.michiganeyeback.org(800) 247-7250
Organ & Tissue Donation:Gift of Life: www.giftoflifemichigan.org(734) 922-1357
Whole Body Donation:MedCure: www.medcure.org(877) 253-0733
Resources Gonzalez, F. and Hereira, M. (2008).
Home-Based Viewing (El Velorio) After Death: A Cost-Effective Alternative for Some Families. American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine. 2008 Oct-Nov; 25(5), 419-20.
National Funeral Director’s Association. Accessed April 10, 2012 at: www.nfda.org
Wilson, M.T. (2009). The Home Funeral as the Final Act of Caring: A Qualitative Study. Unpublished master’s degree in nursing dissertation. Madonna University. Livonia, Michigan.