Safe Luxury

Is this why funeral directors have passed law for burial in this way?

Muslims and Jews are exempt from this method, but atheists and Christians are mandated to have all their blood removed and replaced with fermaldehyde and hydrogen chloride. This prevents decomposition and makes body stiff as a board. Then they are placed in steel coffins or even if they get a wooden one, they are mandated to be placed in concrete vaults. Is this done so that the cemetary can easily remove the body and reuse the coffin so there's no decomposition in it and reuse the vaults and possibly burial space in the future? This is in the United States - California in particular so I won't talk about other states. Jews and Muslims are exempt because their religion states they must decompose to be with the soil so they are burried without chemicals and in wooden coffins without vaults. Nightwind that's a myth they're about contamination because the chemicals they use are extremely dangerous and do not decompose and can get into the soil and water table so I don't buy that. The vaults are placed in the ground, not over the ground type of burial. This keeps the coffin waterproof but I wonder if they go through all that trouble of making it mandatory so that they then remove the coffin and reuse them.

Public Comments

1. I was not aware that Muslims and Jews were exempt.
2. What country do you live in? No such law in Britain.
3. No. Modern preparations of the dead do not completely halt decomposition. The body still degrades to varying degrees over time. Indeed, trapped in airtight coffins, even "preserved" bodies can turn into a rather disgusting soup-like substance over time. I do not believe that concrete vaults are required in all locations. It has do with a number of factors, including the level of the water table. Burial laws are largely about contamination issues so the dead do not poison the living.
4. $$$$$$$ That is your answer. I don't know where you live, but it could be a state law, not a federal. It is not here in the US, but the states can make decisions that support the "industry". Edited... I am yet again so Glad that I moved out of California almost 3 decades ago!!. Yeah, the "industry" makes sure you have to pay to go to hell.... (Hell is the grave in the Bible)
5. Nope. It's all down to undertakers making money, and cultural preferences. In the UK for example, we don't have grave liners - you end up in a muddy puddle.
6. WHERE are you getting this from? In NY, we can bury our dead - in the ground, 6 feet under.
7. Actually, everyone is exempt. The only legal requirements are those required to prevent the spread of disease due to decomposition. Funeral directors who "insist" on embalming likely prefer it because it is the most financially rewarding for them (along with fancy caskets and burial vaults). But depending on local laws, natural burial is perfectly legal. If a body is to be displayed, it can be preserved with ice or some other refrigerating method. And of course, display is optional. There are other processing methods, such as cremation. A burial vault prevents the collapse of the grave when the body and/or casket decomposes. (Old fashioned burials were mounded to minimize the shifting of the earth.) In many places, vaults are optional. A casket can be plain wood, cardboard or replaced by a shroud. Many people are choosing such options for both economic and environmental reasons. Again, in places where embalming, caskets and vaults might be mandated, the motives are surely corporate greed. Funeral parlors are being gobbled up by big conglomerates out to maximize profits. Many states and countries have removed the restrictions, but corporate lobbyists are just as eager to impose them. Unless people resist these grotesque methods of "preservation", natural burial may become more and more impossible. One of the natural burial sites in California is "Forever Fernwood" in Mill Valley.
8. Wrong, completely, utterly false. You are absolutely, 100% incorrect and you really should do some research before posting such ridiculous crap that isn't true. NO WHERE IN THE UNITED STATES IS EMBALMING REQUIRED. The Federal Trade Commission clearly states under the Funeral Rule that embalming is not required unless you choose a service that would require embalming, such as a viewing. If you do not want embalming, you choose services that do not require embalming, such as direct burial or cremation. It is NOT a law, it is NOT mandated and you really, really need to do your homework before you post such false information that is not even remotely correct.