§ 90-210.129. Cremation procedures.
§ 90‑210.129. Cremationprocedures.
(a) In deaths certifiedby the attending physician, the body shall not be cremated before the crematorylicensee receives a death certificate signed by the attending physician, whichshall contain at a minimum the following information:
(1) Decedent's name;
(2) Date of death;
(3) Date of birth;
(4) Sex;
(5) Place of death;
(6) Facility name (ifnot institution, give street and number);
(7) County of death;
(8) City of death; and
(9) Time of death (ifknown).
(b) When required byG.S. 130A‑388 and the rules adopted pursuant to that section or bysuccessor statute and the rules pursuant to it, a cremation authorization formsigned by a medical examiner shall be received by the crematory prior tocremation.
(c) In deaths comingunder full investigation by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, a burial‑transitpermit/cremation authorization form must be received by the crematory beforecremation.
(d) No body shallknowingly be cremated with a pacemaker or defibrillator or other potentiallyhazardous implant or condition in place. The authorizing agent for thecremation of the human remains shall be responsible for taking all necessarysteps to ensure that any pacemaker or defibrillator or other potentiallyhazardous implant or condition is removed or corrected prior to cremation. Ifan authorizing agent informs the funeral director and the crematory licensee onthe cremation authorization form of the presence of a pacemaker ordefibrillator or other potentially hazardous implant or condition in the humanremains, then the funeral director shall be responsible for ensuring that allnecessary steps have been taken to remove the pacemaker or defibrillator orother potentially hazardous implant or to correct the hazardous conditionbefore delivering the human remains to the crematory.
(e) Human remains shallnot be cremated within 24 hours after the time of death, unless such death wasa result of an infectious, contagious, or communicable and dangerous disease aslisted by the Commission for Public Health, pursuant to G.S. 130A‑134,and unless such time requirement is waived in writing by the medical examiner,county health director, or attending physician where the death occurred.
(f) No unauthorizedperson shall be permitted in view of the cremation chamber or in the holdingand processing facility while any human remains are being removed from thecremation container, processed, or pulverized. Relatives of the deceased andtheir invitees, the authorizing agent and the agent's invitees, medicalexaminers, Inspectors of the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service, and lawenforcement officers in the execution of their duties shall be authorized tohave access to the crematory area, subject to the rules adopted by thecrematory licensee governing the safety of such individuals.
(g) Human remains shallbe cremated only while enclosed in a cremation container. Upon completion ofthe cremation, and insofar as is possible, all of the recoverable residue ofthe cremation process shall be removed from the cremation chamber. Insofar asis possible, all residue of the cremation process shall then be separated fromany foreign residue or anything else other than bone fragments and then beprocessed by pulverization so as to reduce the cremated remains tounidentifiable particles. Any foreign residue and anything other than theparticles of the cremated remains shall be removed from the cremated remains asfar as possible and shall be disposed of by the crematory licensee. Thissection does not apply where law otherwise provides for commingling of humanremains. The fact that there is incidental and unavoidable residue in thecremation chamber used in a prior cremation is not a violation of thissubsection.
(h) The simultaneouscremation of the human remains of more than one person within the samecremation chamber is forbidden.
(i) Every crematoryshall have a holding and processing facility, within the crematory, designatedfor the retention of human remains prior to cremation. The holding and processingfacility must comply with any applicable public health laws and rules and mustmeet all of the standards established pursuant to rules adopted by the Board.
(j) Crematorylicensees shall comply with standards established by the Board for the processingand pulverization of human remains by cremation.
(k) Nothing in thisArticle shall require a crematory licensee to perform a cremation that isimpossible or impractical to perform.
(l) The crematedremains with proper identification shall be placed in an initial container orthe urn selected or provided by the authorizing agent. The initial container orurn contents shall not be contaminated with any other object, unless specificauthorization has been received from the authorizing agent or as provided insubsection (g) of this section.
(m) If the crematedremains are greater than the dimensions of an initial container or urn, theexcess cremated remains shall be returned to the authorizing agent or itsrepresentative in a separate container or urn.
(n) If the crematedremains are to be shipped, the initial container or urn shall be packedsecurely in a suitable shipping container that complies with the requirementsof the shipper. Cremated remains shall be shipped only by a method which has aninternal tracing system available and which provides a receipt signed by theperson accepting delivery, unless otherwise authorized in writing by theauthorizing agent. Cremated remains shall be shipped to the proper address asstated on the cremation authorization form signed by the authorizing agent.
(o) Unless theprovisions of G.S. 130A‑114 apply, before cremation the crematorylicensee shall receive a written statement, on a form prescribed by the Boardand signed by the attending physician, acknowledging the circumstances, date,and time of the delivery of the fetal remains from the mother. If afterreasonable efforts no physician can be identified with knowledge andinformation sufficient to complete the written statement required by thissubsection, the crematory licensee shall obtain documentation of thecircumstances, date, and time of delivery of the fetal remains prepared by ahospital, medical facility, law enforcement agency, or other entity.Notwithstanding any other provision of law, health care providers may releaseto a licensee, in accordance with the federal Standards for Privacy ofIndividually Identifiable Health Information under the Health InsurancePortability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), medical records thatdocument the circumstances, date, and time of delivery of fetal remains. If thecrematory licensee cannot identify documents sufficient to meet therequirements of this subsection, the licensee shall report to the local medicalexaminer pursuant to G.S. 130A‑383(a).
(p) If the provisionsof Article 4 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes apply, the crematorylicensee shall receive a fetal report of death as prescribed in G.S. 130A‑114.
(q) Before thecremation of amputated body parts, the crematory licensee shall receive a writtenstatement, on a form prescribed by the Board and signed by the attendingphysician, acknowledging the circumstances of the amputation. If afterreasonable efforts no physician can be identified with knowledge andinformation sufficient to complete the written statement required by thissubsection, the crematory licensee shall notify the local medical examinerpursuant to G.S. 130A‑383(b). This section does not apply to thedisposition of body parts cremated pursuant to Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter130A of the General Statutes. (1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 988, s. 1; 1997‑399,s. 19; 2003‑420, s. 2; 2007‑182, s. 1.2; 2007‑531, s. 23;2008‑153, s. 6.)