Why Has It Become Standard Practice in the U.S. to Embalm Our Dead?

Part II of my series on funeral rites originally published on www.alternet.org.

Naturally preserved. Photo credit: www.sacredcrossings.com

Unlike Lenin, Lincoln and Rudy Valentino, you don’t need to show proof that you ignited revolutions, civil wars and extra-marital affairs in order to be embalmed. You just need to reside in America and be pronounced dead. If, on the other hand, you wish to remain intact until burial or cremation but you fail to communicate this information to your loved ones, your family will probably hand over the care of your body to a funeral home which will strongly advise that you be disinfected, preserved, cosmetized and deodorized for your going-away party.

Since it’s become imperative that we confront the hidden costs of our modern lifestyle and reevaluate whether our needs are truly needs and not just wants, it’s no surprise that our death industry and its standardized practice of embalming is getting a second look. Formaldehyde, the main preserving agent, has been classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Improper disposition of embalming fluids has also come under scrutiny for its violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. “Formaldehyde and phenol,” notes the EPA, “present human health risks, if ingested in drinking water.”

If Canada and England show a penchant for the posthumous makeover, the United States is the only country in the world where chemical conservation of our dead is common practice even though embalming is not required in most states. “Embalming is an option,” says Shun Newbern, quality control embalming supervisor at Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary in Southern California. “With that option come procedures to make people presentable and assure that during the service there is no odor. It’s only temporary. It only lasts 100 years.” Only?

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