La. R.S. § 37:879 Cremation Procedures; Pacemakers; Cremation Retorts; Refusal to Accept a Cremation Container; Unauthorized Persons In Crematory; Simultaneous Cremation of the Human Remains of Multiple Persons; Cremation Residue; Packaging and Delivery of Cremated Human Remains

• Library: Louisiana Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current with changes from the 2023 Legislative Session
• Year: 2023
• Citation: La. R.S. § 37:879

A. If an authorizing agent informs the funeral director and the cremation authority on the cremation authorization form of the presence of a pacemaker or other hazardous implants in the human remains, then the funeral establishment and the funeral director shall also be responsible for ensuring that all necessary steps have been taken to remove the pacemaker or other hazardous implants before delivering the human remains to the crematory.

B. Cremation retorts in licensed crematories operating in this state shall be used exclusively for the cremation of human remains.

C. The human remains shall not be received by the crematory authority for cremation until all authorization documents as required by R.S. 37:877 to cremate have been received in writing from the authorizing agent.

D. A crematory authority shall not be required to accept for cremation a cremation container or a casket from which there is evidence of leakage of the body fluids from the human remains therein.

E. No unauthorized person, as determined by the crematory authority, shall be permitted in a crematory while any human remains are in the crematory awaiting cremation, being cremated, or being removed from the cremation retort. However, nothing in this Section shall preclude attendance at the cremation, if specific practices and beliefs of religious groups dictate participation in the cremation process.

F. The simultaneous cremation of the human remains of more than one adult person within the same cremation retort is prohibited.

G. The simultaneous cremation of the human remains of one adult and one or more children shall not be performed, unless the crematory authority has received specific written authorization from all authorizing agents for the human remains to be so cremated. For those cremations performed pursuant to a written authorization as authorized by this Subsection, the written authorization shall exempt the crematory authority from all liability for commingling of the cremated human remains during the cremation process.

H. Each crematory authority shall maintain proper identification of the remains.

I. Upon completion of the cremation, all of the recoverable residue of the cremation process shall be removed from the cremation retort. All residue of the cremation process shall then be separated from anything other than bone fragments, and such bone fragments shall then be processed to reduce them to unidentifiable particles. Anything other than the unidentifiable particles shall be removed from the cremated residuals and shall be properly disposed of by the crematory authority, unless otherwise directed by the authorizing agent.