N.Y. Not-for-Profit Corporation Law § 1517: Crematory operations

§ 1517. Crematory operations.

Cemetery corporations that operate a crematory shall have the

following duties and obligations:

(a) Maintenance and privacy. (1) A crematory facility shall be

maintained in a clean, orderly, and sanitary manner, with adequate

ventilation and shall have a temporary storage area available to store

the remains of deceased human beings pending disposition by cremation,

the interior of which shall not be accessible to the general public.

(2) Entrances and windows of the crematory facility shall be

maintained at all times to secure privacy, including (i) doors shall be

tightly closed and rigid; (ii) windows shall be covered; and (iii)

entrances shall be locked and secured when not actively attended by

authorized crematory personnel.

(b) Cremation process. (1) The cremation process shall be conducted in

privacy. No person except authorized persons shall be admitted into the

retort area, holding facility, or the temporary storage facility while

the remains of deceased human beings are being cremated. Authorized

persons, on admittance, shall comply with all rules of the crematory

corporation and not infringe upon the privacy of the remains of deceased

human beings.

(2) The following are authorized persons: (i) licensed, registered

funeral directors, registered residents, and enrolled students of

mortuary science; (ii) officers and trustees of the cemetery

corporation; (iii) authorized employees or their authorized agents of

the cemetery corporation; (iv) public officers acting in the discharge

of their duties; (v) authorized instructors of funeral directing

schools; (vi) licensed physicians or nurses; and (vii) members of the

immediate family of the deceased and their authorized agents and

designated representatives.

(c) Identification of deceased human beings. (1) No crematory shall

cremate the remains of any deceased human being without the accompanying

cremation permit, required pursuant to section four thousand one hundred

forty-five of the public health law which permit shall constitute

presumptive evidence of the identity of the said remains. In addition,

all crematories situated outside the city of New York, must comply with

paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section four thousand one hundred

forty-five of the public health law pertaining to the receipt for the

deceased human being. From the time of such delivery to the crematory,

until the time the crematory delivers the cremains as directed, the

crematory shall be responsible for the remains of the deceased human

being. Further, a cremation authorization form must accompany the permit

required in section four thousand one hundred forty-five of the public

health law. This form, provided or approved by the crematory, must be

signed by the next of kin or authorizing agent attesting to the

permission for the cremation of the deceased, and disclosing to the

crematory that such body does not contain a battery, battery pack, power

cell, radioactive implant, or radioactive device, if any, and that these

materials were removed prior to the cremation process.

(2) Upon good cause being shown rebutting the presumption of the

identity of such remains, the cremation shall not commence until

reasonable confirmation of the identity of the deceased human being is

made. This proof may be in the form of, but not limited to, a signed

affidavit from a licensed physician, a member of the family of the

deceased human being, the authorizing agent or a court order from the

state supreme court within the county of the cemetery corporation. Such

proof shall be provided by the authorizing agent.

(3) The crematory shall have a written plan to assure that the

identification established by the cremation permit accompanies the

remains of the deceased human being through the cremation process and

until the identity of the deceased is accurately and legibly inscribed

on the container in which the cremains are placed.

(d) Opening of container holding the remains of the deceased human

being. (1) The casket, alternative container, or external wrappings

holding the remains of the deceased human being shall not be opened

after delivery to the crematory unless there exists good cause to

confirm the identity of the deceased, or to assure that no material is

enclosed which might cause injury to employees or damage to crematory

property, or upon reasonable demand by members of the immediate family

or the authorized agent.

(2) In such instances in which the casket, alternative container, or

wrappings are opened after delivery to the crematory, such action shall

only be conducted by the licensed funeral director or registered

resident delivering the remains of the deceased human being and if

necessary, with the assistance of crematory personnel and a record shall

be made, which shall include the reason for such action, the signature

of the person authorizing the opening thereof, and the names of the

person opening the container and the witness thereto, which shall be

retained in the permanent file of the crematory. The opening of the

container shall be conducted in the presence of the witness and shall

comply with all rules and regulations intended to protect the health and

safety of crematory personnel.

(e) Ceremonial casket cremation disclosure. In those instances in

which the remains of deceased human beings are to be delivered to a

crematory in a casket that is not to be cremated with the deceased,

timely disclosure thereof must be made by the person making the funeral

arrangements to the crematory that prior to cremation the remains of the

deceased human being shall be transferred to an alternative container.

Such signed acknowledgement of the authorizing person, that the timely

disclosure has been made, shall be retained by the crematory in its

permanent records.

(f) Transferring remains. (1) The remains of a deceased human being

shall not be removed from the casket, alternative container, or external

wrappings in which it is delivered to the crematory unless explicit,

signed authorization is provided by the person making funeral

arrangements or by a public officer discharging his or her statutory

duty, which signed authorization shall be retained by the crematory in

its permanent records.

(2) When the remains of a deceased human being are to be transferred

to an alternative container, the transfer shall be conducted in privacy

with dignity and respect and by the licensed funeral director or

registered resident who delivered those remains and if necessary, with

the assistance of crematory personnel. The transferring operation shall

comply with all rules and regulations intended to protect the health and

safety of crematory personnel.

(g) Commingling human remains. The cremation of remains of more than

one deceased human being in a retort at any one time is unlawful, except

upon the explicit, signed authorization provided by the persons making

funeral arrangements and the signed approval of the crematory, which

shall be retained by the crematory in its permanent records.

(h) Processing of cremains. (1) Upon the completion of the cremation

of the remains of a deceased human being, the interior of the retort

shall be thoroughly swept so as to render the retort reasonably free of

all matter. The contents thereof shall be placed into an individual

container and not commingled with other cremains. The cremation permit

shall be attached to the individual container preparatory to final

processing.

(2) A magnet and sieve, or other appropriate method of separation, may

be used to divide the cremains from unrecognizable incidental or foreign

material.

(3) The incidental and foreign material of the cremation process shall

be disposed of in a safe manner in compliance with all sanitary rules

and regulations as byproducts.

(4) The cremains shall be pulverized until no single fragment is

recognizable as skeletal tissue.

(5) The pulverized cremains shall be transferred to a sealable

container or containers whose inside dimension shall be of suitable size

to contain the entire cremains of the person who was cremated.

(6) The prescribed sealable container or containers shall be

accurately and legibly labeled with the identification of the human

being whose cremains are contained therein, in a manner acceptable to

the division of cemeteries.

(i) Disposition of cremains. The authorizing agent shall be

responsible for the final disposition of the cremains. Cremains must be

disposed of by placing them in a grave, crypt, or niche, by scattering

them in a designated scattering garden or area, or in any manner

whatever on the private property of a consenting owner or by delivery to

the authorizing agent or a person specifically designated by the

authorizing agent. Upon completion of the cremation process, if the

cemetery corporation has not been instructed to arrange for the

interment, entombment, inurnment or scattering of the cremains, the

cemetery corporation shall deliver the cremains to the individual

specified on the cremation authorization form or the funeral firm of

record. The delivery may be made in person or by registered mail. Upon

receipt of the cremains, the individual receiving them may transport

them in any manner in the state without a permit, and may dispose of

them in accordance with this section. After delivery, the cemetery

corporation shall be discharged from any legal obligation or liability

concerning the cremains. If, after a period of one hundred twenty days

from the date of the cremation, the authorizing agent has not instructed

the cemetery corporation to arrange for the final disposition of the

cremains or claimed the cremains, the cemetery corporation may dispose

of the cremains in any manner permitted by this section. The cemetery

corporation, however, shall keep a permanent record identifying the site

of final disposition. The authorizing agent shall be responsible for

reimbursing the cemetery corporation for all reasonable expenses

incurred in disposing of the cremains. Upon disposing of the cremains,

the cemetery corporation shall be discharged from any legal obligation

or liability concerning the cremains. Except with the express written

permission of the authorizing agent, no person shall:

(1) dispose of cremains in a manner or in a location so that the

cremains are commingled with those of another person. This prohibition

shall not apply to the scattering of cremains at sea, by air, or in an

area located in a cemetery and used exclusively for those purposes; and

(2) place cremains of more than one person in the same temporary

container or urn.

(j) Crematory operation certification. Any employee of a crematory

whose function is to conduct the daily operations of the cremation

process shall be certified by an organization approved by the division

of cemeteries. Proof of such certification must be posted in the

crematory and available for inspection at any time. Any new employees of

a crematory required to be certified under this section shall be

certified within one year of their employment. Any employees of a

crematory required to be certified under this section and retained prior

to the effective date of this paragraph shall be certified within one

year of such effective date. Renewal of such certification shall be

completed every five years from the date of certification.