http://www.wyfda.org/member/cj_1.html WYFDA - Wyoming Funeral Directors Association
As long as we never encounter an organism that is resistant to formaldehyde and other
embalming chemicals, and as long as we have the means to protect ourselves, we will
always be able to serve the public with our skills.
But what if, in the future, an organism comes along that we can not destroy through
embalming? What then?
Well, the future is now. Such a disease exists.
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There is no diagnostic test for it
You can have it for up to 25 years and not know it
There is no vaccine
There is no cure
There is no treatment
It is infectious
It is always fatal
Formaldehyde doesn't touch it
There are no embalming chemicals that will kill it
Common methods of disinfection and sterilization won't kill it
Its called Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Is CJD a danger to healthcare and mortuary staff?
As of today, over two dozen cases of CJD exist among healthcare workers including physicians,
neurologists, pathologists, and laboratory technicians exposed to CJD. There are as yet no
documented cases of transfer of the disease from a deceased patient to mortuary staff.
“Use drain hose to sewer system to minimize exposure to blood. “
http://www.wyfda.org/member/cj_7.html (Wyoming Funeral Directors
Association - WYFDA)
In fact, embalmers acknowledge the discharge of prions to pubic sewers:
“Disposal of liquid waste (drainage)- If injection with drainage is attempted, it
presents the additional problem of what to do with the drainage. Since
formaldehyde has no effect on the prion, normal disposal into the sewer system
means introducing an unknown quantity of the prion into the sewer system.
“
http://www.wyfda.org/member/cjg_3.html
“”Disposal of solid waste (PPE, etc.) – All solid waste including gloves, gowns, sheets, etc.
that have been used or which may have come into contact with the CJD case should be
sealed in plastic and disposed of as hazardous waste.
“Treatment of instruments – Disposable instruments should be used and also disposed of
as hazardous waste or sharps. Non-disposable instruments should likewise be disposed
of and not reused. Since the CJD prion has been shown to survive autoclaving if not done
at proper temperature (and since most funeral homes do not have access to an autoclave),
attempts at sterilization are not recommended.”
“Formaldehyde, which would also be in the drainage, should never be mixed with bleach.
Lye mixed with water produces heat and presents its own handling and disposal hazards.”
“Any attempts at treating the drainage, further exposes the embalmer to the prion as well
as additional chemical hazards. “
“Therefore, although it may not seem to be an adequate solution, the most logical
answer is to dispose of the drainage directly into the sewer system with a minimum
of exposure to the embalmer. “
http://www.wyfda.org/member/cjg_3.html
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http://www.nfda.org/directorArticle.php?eID=2119&arc=1&PHPSESSID=4ca59c2f45
09eb372255190ba0f3e316
NFDA's report on the first study included an extensive review of the products that
funeral directors use by examining the Material Safety Data Sheets for those products
and the composition of the wastewater produced by sampling the wastewater. The waste
stream audit determined that funeral homes could safely discharge waste water to a local
treatment system because the volume of funeral home wastewater is inconsequential
when compared to the volume of waste water that the treatment works receives.
Moreover, the study concluded that the primary chemical constituents of the wastewater,
formaldehyde and phenol, can be expected to undergo extensive treatment by
biodegradation in the sewers and treatment works
.
Like residential wastewater, funeral home wastewater is likely to contain some
amount of blood and bodily fluids. This should not pose a problem, however,as the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that wastewater
containing blood can be safely discharged to septic tanks, and that conventional onsite wastewater treatment will satisfactorily inactivate bloodborne pathogens. (See
“Draft Guideline for Environmental Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities, 2001,”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Healthcare Infection Control Practices
Advisory Committee, at 1, 99, 166, 167and accompanying footnotes, updated November
8, 2002. This document can be accessed
atwww.cdc.gov/ncidod/hip/enviro/env_guide_draft.pdf.) CDC identified
several factors that enhance the inactivation of bloodborne pathogensin wastewater
disposal and treatment, including dilution of the discharged materials with water and
inactivation of pathogens due to exposure to cleaning chemicals, disinfectants and other
chemicals in the wastewater.
Funeral Home and Human Waste....? - Yahoo!
Answers
Asewer line in my city stopped up and had to beunclogged by a jet machine....., the line
leads to thefuneralhome. Literally,blood and guts bubbled out...
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080703130017AAxLvdL -51k -CachedSimilar pages-Notethis
Funeral director job not for everyone
Thefuneral directors also use various tools to remove blood clots and open...into
the septic sewer to be treated at the waste water
treatmentplant. ...
www.herald-journal.com/Archives/1997/funeral.html - 9k -Cached-Similar pagesNotethis
Times-News: Magicvalley.com, Twin Falls, ID
The blood flows through a drain into Twin Falls’city sewer system....The funeral
director will ask if your body contains anything inorganic,...
www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/10/22/news_topstory/news_topstory.1.txt- 36k Cached-Similar pages-Notethis
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsiwm/document/guidance/gd_105.pdf
Blood and other body fluids are discharged to sanitary sewers from a variety of
sources including residences, hospitals, funeral homes and \slaughter houses. These
fluids (are normally released into the sewers without any prior treatment. This method of
disposal has been used for many years with no documented adverse health effects.
TheCenters for Disease Control in Atlanta continues to recommend sanitary sewers as the
most appropriate disposal method.
http://books.google.com/books?id=Xxzbi6RgQmgC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=fun
eral+director,+blood+to+sewers&source=web&ots=53SIfQNTS&sig=PpYbPe3oiPGzgS_JPt_fbaPiU_g&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&
ct=resultfuneral director, blood to sewer - go back and copy from book
Grave Matters: A Journey Through the Modern FuneralIndustry to a
... - Google Books Result
by Donald MarkHarris, Mark Harris - 2007 - Business&Economics - 193pages
saw "a large
gush of red blood" pouring into a sewer near a funeral
home,...
Thefuneral director can now finish the paperwork on this successful burial,...
books.google.com/books?isbn=0743277686...
http://www.town.swanzey.nh.us/vertical/Sites/%7B760A44B
6-0D83-4ACA-89A3-80792F1CB951%7D/uploads/%7B60F5596D1207-4729-AAE7-C05747DF519B%7D.DOCSwanzey, NH - new
funeral home seeking variance
In addition, McKenna met with the Sewer Commission. Sewer
Commissioner Glenn Page was present. Page stated that the
amount of the chemicals that would be discharged into the
wastewater treatment system would be negligible. In addition, Page
stated that the blood, excrement and urine that would enter the
wastewater treatment system would also be negligible and were not
unlike discharges that you would also find in a typical residential
use. Carbonneau stated that it was her understanding that a
wastewater discharge permit from DES may be needed.
Geheran expressed concern that the letter dated July 18, 2005 from the
Conservation Commission was seemingly at odds with the position of the Sewer
Commission. Conservation Commission Chair Steve Stepenuck was present and noted
that the Con Com did not have enough information (when the application was submitted)
about the quantity of the chemicals used. Stepenuck stated that based on the
representations about the limited number of embalmings that would take place on
site and the limited amount of blood that would enter the system, the concerns about
the potential negative effect of the discharge on the sewer system were somewhat
mitigated.
http://www.baris.net/bfh/embalm.html
A commonly asked question at this point is:
What do you do with the blood you remove from the body? Once the blood mixes with the
embalming chemicals, it becomes basically harmless. The laws allow us to put the blood
down the normal sanitary sewer drains in the preparation room sink as it does not pose a
health risk.
What Happens to Blood During Embalming?
Since the blood is "mixed" with the embalming chemicals during this whole ... it is
discharged into the sewer system as an extra measure of precaution. ...
funeralplan.com/askexperts/bloodembalming.html - 6k - Cached - Similar pages - Note
this
Arterial Embalming
Arterial embalming begins by selecting an artery to inject the fluid into and a ... The
blood drains directly into the sewer system, which sounds gross, ...
www.embalming.net/arterial.htm - 9k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Funeral Directors And Embalmers Admit
Discharge Of Human Prions ...
Human epidemiological evidence only indicates that if blood transmission occurs, .....
Some will attempt embalming only because that is what embalmers do. ...
www.rense.com/general52/um.htm - 48k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
The 5 Stages of Embalming - The List Universe
Embalming is not required by law in many countries, but it is often performed for ... The
blood drains directly into the sewer system, which sounds gross, ...
listverse.com/science/the-5-stages-of-embalming/ - 84k - Cached - Similar pages - Note
this
Q. for funeral directors: what happens to blood? - Yahoo! Answers
Q. for funeral directors: what happens to blood? ... After all the blood is drained it is
flushed into the sewer. 8 months ago ...
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071103142825AAk4tRR - 49k - Cached Similar pages - Note this
Carnell's Funeral Home, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada
Funeral directors and casket manufacturers can help limit the likelihood ... Currently
blood and body fluids are discharged directly into the sanitary sewer ...
www.carnells.com/articles_details.php?id=24 - 19k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/408264/my_personal_journey_into_the_bowels.html?page=2&cat=7
It was off to the embalming room next. A very bright white room, aside of its grim
inhabitants.
A single stainless steel stretcher with a rising head rest was displayed in the center of the
room.
Along the sides were plugs, makeup, dissecting tools and machines that are used to embalm
a body.
Very simply a small incision is made usually in the upper chest area, a
tube is
inserted and the blood
is entirely drained out and travels through a tube, out
another exit area of the lower body and discarded
into the sewer system. When finished another tube is inserted and an
embalming fluid is pushed into the body.
Plugs are attached to prevent leakage.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080703130017AAxLvdL
Funeral Home and Human Waste....?
A sewer line in my city stopped up and had to be unclogged by a jet machine....., the line
leads to the funeral home.
Literally, blood and guts bubbled out of the line. Is this legal? Can funeral homes legally
wash human organs
down the public sewer system?
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2 weeks ago
Additional Details
2 weeks ago
No, this actually happend yesterday. My concern is for the workers who should never ever
be exposed to such waste.
Best Answer
- Chosen by Voters
I assure you that no "guts" came bubbling out. No guts or organs are removed during the
embalming
process, therefore they could not have bubbled out. The blood is washed directly down the
drain,
and yes, we are allowed to do this. It poses no threat to the public. When people who have
AIDS
and Hepatitis use the bathroom do they have to do something special to their waste?
No, and neither do funeral homes. People bleed, deficate, vomit and all kinds of things
into the toilet everyday and then flush it down. We do the same thing. It is all treated at the
wastewater treatment plant. You have been drinking the water for years and to my
knowledge, no one has died from it yet!!
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Funeral director job not for everyone
The funeral directors also use various tools to remove blood clots and open ... into the
septic sewer to be treated at the
waste water treatment plant. ...
www.herald-journal.com/Archives/1997/funeral.html - 9k - Cached - Similar pages - Note
this
Times-News: Magicvalley.com, Twin Falls, ID
The blood flows through a drain into Twin Falls’ city sewer system. ... The funeral
director will ask if your body contains anything inorganic, ...
www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/10/22/news_topstory/news_topstory.1.txt - 36k Cached - Similar pages - Note this
The 5 Stages of Embalming - The List Universe
The blood drains directly into the sewer system, which sounds gross, ..... Not only
embalmers work in the lab… a funeral director or a janitor might be ...
listverse.com/science/the-5-stages-of-embalming/ - 84k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this