Abstract:
A bag device for storing a body includes upper and lower impervious flexible panel members each having opposed side edges and opposed ends. Respectively side edges of the members are formed integrally therealong, and the members are movable to form a cavity for storing the body. The end is closed and the end is normally open so that can be inserted into the cavity. The members are laminates of thermoplastic sheets and the open end can be sealed by application of heat to the thermoplastic sheets at the open end. Pressure release valves are fixed to the member so that excess pressure in the cavity due to body decomposition is released to the atmosphere.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Bodies and body remains of dead human beings and animals tend to decompose in a relatively short time. When left uncovered, the bodies and body remains that carry diseases or viruses will spread through either a direct contact therewith, or an indirect transfer by insects or other human beings or animals which have become infected with the diseases or viruses. Some of the diseases or viruses can also be carried by a flowable medium such as air or water, and therefore can be spread by air or water. 
   Decomposition of the bodies and body remains commences well before burial or cremation. The decomposition process produces liquid and gaseous products which have unpleasant odours. The decomposition products may find their way to an underground stream, a river or a water resource that is used by nearby inhabitant. Any escape of the liquid decomposition products can cause serious health problem to the general community. 
   The unpleasant odours are especially prevalent in days of relatively high temperature. In addition, at that time many more insects are attracted by the odours and they help to spread diseases or viruses. 
   People managing mausoleums or burial sites have made many attempts to minimise effects due to the decomposition products. Examples of these attempts include embalming bodies, treatment with preservatives and sealing coffins. The process of embalming bodies is time consuming and it has a limited effect in containing decomposition products. The preservatives may be toxic, and as such people managing the burial sites must take steps to prevent leakage of the preservatives into the environment. Totally sealing a coffin is costly and there is a danger of explosion due to the decomposition products building up of pressure therein. In some cases, mausoleum management uses metal trays in coffins to retain the liquid decomposition products, and a venting system to force the gaseous decomposition products into atmosphere. Deodorising agents and other chemicals have also been used to disguise the unpleasant odours for a short time period. 
   Disposal of the liquid and gaseous decomposition products in mausoleums is therefore difficult. It is also difficult to prevent leakage of these products from mausoleums. 
   For bodies and body remains that are to be subject to analysis, any loss or contamination of the body remains may seriously affect results of the analysis. Embalming or treatment with preservative can also affect accuracy of an analysis of a body remain. This is undesirable, especially in an autopsy when the cause or causes of death need to be correctly determined. The loss of fluids in or parts of or contaminations of bodies or body remains may also spread infectious diseases. 
   OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of this invention to provide a containment device which alleviates or reduces to a certain level one or more of the above problems. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   As used hereinafter, the word “body” is taken to mean a body or body remain of a dead person or animal. 
   In one broad aspect therefore the present invention resides in a containment device for storing a body. The containment device includes a substantially elongate upper impervious flexible panel member and a substantially elongate lower impervious flexible panel member, and the upper and lower panel members each having an inside surface, an outside surface, opposed side edges and opposed ends. Respective side edges of the upper and lower panel members are sealingly joined together or formed integrally therealong, and the upper and lower panel members are movable relative to each other to form a cavity between the inside surfaces. The opposed ends form respective ends of the device and at least one of the device ends is openable so that through the or one of the open end(s) the body can be inserted into the cavity for storage. A sealing arrangement is arranged for sealingly closing the or one of the open end(s) by application of heat and/or pressure, whereby the cavity is hermetically sealed. The device further includes a fluid absorbent composition arranged on the inside surface of said lower panel member for absorbing gaseous and/or liquid decomposition products escaping from said body, and at least one pressure release means arranged through an aperture in said upper panel member for releasing pressure in the cavity when the pressure due to the gaseous and/or liquid decomposition products in the cavity exceeds a predetermined level. Said at least one pressure release means has a first housing member configured with a first chamber therein and a second housing member configured with a second chamber therein. Said first housing member is arranged within the cavity and said second housing member is arranged on said outside surface of the upper panel member. A pressure sensitive valve member is positioned between the first and second chambers and is arranged to open to allow the gaseous decomposition products to pass into the second chamber and through vents in said second housing member to atmosphere and thereby releasing pressure in the cavity when the pressure therein exceeds said predetermined level. Said first chamber contains vapour retention media for substantially retaining vapour entrained in the gaseous decomposition products and said second chamber contains bacteria filtering media for substantially filtering bacteria before the filtered gaseous decomposition products passing through said vents. 
   The or one of said at least one pressure release means may be arranged for connection to evacuation means for evacuating air within the cavity following sealing thereof. Preferably, the valve member is housed within a collar extending from said first housing member. The collar is adapted for connection to said evacuation means and said second housing member is configured for removably securing to said collar and is removable therefrom to provide access to connect the evacuation means to the collar for evacuating the cavity. 
   It is preferred that air conditioning media are also provided in one or both of said first and second chambers. 
   One or more hand grips may be formed along each of the side edges. Preferably, the handgrips are each reinforced with a PVC tubing. More preferably, each handgrip is in the form of a cutout section in one of said side edges and the PVC tubing is fixed in said cutout. 
   In preference, each of said upper and lower panel members is formed by lamination or co-extrusion of one or more layers of material or materials. It is further preferred that each of said upper and lower panel members has at least one layer of an impervious metallic film(s) and at least one layer of a polymeric material(s). Each of said upper and lower panel members may be arranged so that the at least one layer of a metallic film(s) is between an outer one and an inner one of the at least one layer of a polymeric material(s). Preferably, said outer layer is relatively more tear and/or puncture resistant than said inner layer. In one form, the polymeric material for said outer layer is nylon or polycarbonate, and the polymeric material for said inner layer is polyethylene. 
   More preferably, said one or more layers of material or materials include at least one layer of ethylene vinyl alcohol bonded to the or each of said at least one layer of a metallic film(s). The at least one layer of a metallic film(s) may be an aluminium foil(s). The at least one layer of ethylene vinyl alcohol not only facilitates bonding of the at least one layer of a metallic film(s), it also assists in absorbing methane which is one of the decomposition products. 
   The sealing arrangement may be in the form of a heat and/or pressure sealable material arranged on the inside surface of one each of the upper and lower panel members in a position at or adjacent to said at least one open end. In one form the pressure sealable material is a strip of silicon. The heat sealable material can be a strip of heat weldable material such as thermoplastic. More preferably, at least the panel member(s) or the layer of the panel member(s) having said inside surface, is formed of a heat weldable material so that a simple application of heat within a predetermined range of temperature will form a weld joint between the panel members and thereby sealing the cavity. 
   Preferably the at least one opening is arranged at one end of the device. The other end of the device may be open or closed. If it is normally open then the sealing arrangement as hereinbefore described is also provided for sealing said other end. 
   One or more gas evacuation means can be provided for evacuating gases in the containment device following sealing of the at least one opening. Alternatively the at least one pressure release means can be arranged to evacuate gases and to release pressure when pressure inside the cavity exceeds said predetermined level. 
   Evacuation of gases in the containment device slows down the decomposition process. Accordingly the time for decomposition gas products to build up to the pressure level at which the one or more pressure release means will react to release pressure is much longer. The evacuation also lowers the oxygen level in the bag. The lowered oxygen level helps to reduce the risk of spontaneous combustion that can result from a high ratio of oxygen and combustible decomposition gases. 
   Typically said absorbent composition is arranged on the inside surface of said lower panel member or contained in one or more packages arranged on the inside surface of said lower panel member. The absorbent composition arranged on the insider surface of said lower panel member or contained in the one or more packages may be covered with a pliable perforated sheet attached to said inside surface. Preferably, said perforated sheet is formed of a polymeric material such as polyethylene. 
   It is preferred that the fluid absorbent composition includes one or more liquid absorbent materials arranged for absorbing liquid decomposition products from said body. Said one or more liquid absorbent materials are preferable selected from any one or more of silica gel, calcium chloride and sodium polyacrylate. Typically, said fluid absorbent composition includes a mixture of silica gel, calcium chloride and sodium polyacrylate. In the mixture, the silica gel may be up to 30%, the calcium chloride up to 8% and the sodium polyacrylate up to 80%. It is further preferred that the fluid absorbent composition includes one or more gaseous absorbent materials arranged for absorbing gaseous decomposition products. Said one or more gaseous absorbent materials preferable contains activated carbon. 
   Preferably, said vapour retention media are in the form of a mixture of clay and calcium chloride and the retention mixture is arranged to provide a retention capacity of between 15% to 35% by weight. More preferably, the retention capacity is 20% to 30% by weight. In a specific form, the retention mixture has a mesh size of 8×12 mesh (approximately 1.5-2.6 mm) and a pore size of 10 Angstrom (10×10 10  mm). Calcium chloride is also a preservative material so that any fluid absorbed into this material can be preserved for a relatively longer time. 
   Said air conditioning media may include petroleum based activated carbon and/or fibre based activated carbon. The air conditioning media may also include sodium polyacrylate. Said petroleum based activated carbon and/or fibre based activated carbon, and sodium polyacrylate, where included, may be arranged in layers or a mixed mass. In one application, the petroleum based activated carbon is in the form of a layer between 20 to 40 mm, and the fibre based activated carbon is in the form of a layer between 20 to 40 mm, and sodium polyacrylate, where included, is in the form of a layer between 5 to 15 mm. 
   The bacteria filter is arranged to filter out the majority of known bacteria in a decomposing body remains so as make the treated air that is released back into the environment substantially non hazardous. Accordingly, the filtering of bacteria provides a safer environment for cemetery and mausoleum workers in respect of bacterial contamination. The bacteria filtering also limits bacteria contamination to other workers in different types of applications, e.g. field workers in natural and man-made disaster situations where there are multiple deaths, vets and farmers where there are animal deaths. 
   The bacterial filter is typically in the form of a mixture of paper fibers and glass fibers and is manufactured to a weight of approximately 80 grams/meter 5. This will produce a very small pore size and according to a HOT DOP testing to AS 1324 standard test will only let pass 0.014% of all particles that are less than 0.3 microns. This figure of 0.3 microns is very significant as it is widely regarded as the lowest particle size for bacteria,  rickettsiae  and fungi and most pathogens. 
   The bacteria filter may be arranged in a concertina shape to increase filter per unit area so it lessens the chance of a pressure build up. Preferably, the bacteria filter has at least one flat circular shaped bacterial filter element. 
   Absorption of the liquid and gaseous decomposition products as they are formed also helps to reduce pressure in the containment device. In the case of hydrogen sulfide produced during decomposition the absorption process helps to disproportionate it to other compounds that have no odour in the liquid phase. 
   The composition materials substantially absorb the liquid and gaseous decomposition products, and minimise foul odours. 
   The absorbent materials also help to lower microbial activity of bacteria and fungi usually associated with decomposition. This is apparently influenced by the reduction in available water and/or water vapour which are important conditions for bacterial and fungal growth. Bacterial and fungal activities are also inhibited in the presence of terpene compounds on the active surfaces of the absorbents and in the air space about them. 
   The containment device of the present invention can also be used within a coffin. Accordingly there is no need to modify or purchase specially designed coffins in attempting to overcome the prior art problems. Mausoleums and other funeral houses can therefore use the containment device as a very cost effective way to solve the prior art problems. 
   In another aspect thereof the present invention relates to a body containment system including a plurality of containment devices formed as a linear array, the array being arranged so that the devices are folded into a stack or rolled in a roll, and the bags being separable along joints between adjacent bags, each of said devices being the containment device substantially as hereinbefore described, and heating and/or pressure means have spaced heating and/or pressure elements having a length which is equal to or greater than the width between the opposed side edges of a containment device. At least one of the heating and/or pressure elements is movable towards the other heating and/or pressure element. In use, a containment device is separated from the stack or roll, and placed with said at least one open end thereof between the heating and/or pressure elements and the sealing arrangement in alignment therewith. The movable heating and/or pressure element is then moved towards the other heating and/or pressure element so that the containment device is in contact with the heating and/or pressure elements and the sealing arrangement is being heated and/or pressured by the heating and/or pressure elements. The heat and/or pressure applied causes the sealing arrangement to form a weld joint and thereby sealing the cavity. The movable heating and/or pressure element then can be moved so that the containment device can be released from the heating and/or pressure means. 
   The heating and/or pressure means may have a base and spaced posts extending from the base. The heating and/or pressure elements are arranged on the posts with the movable element above the other element. Preferably, a handle is fixed to the movable element so that movable element can be moved as the handle is moved along the posts. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In order that the present invention can be more readily understood and be put into practical effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a schematic body containment device according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a top view of a schematic body containment device according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a longitudinal section view of the containment device shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a view of the containment device shown in  FIG. 2  with the perforated layer removed; 
       FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the containment device shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the pressure relief valve shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to the drawings and initially to  FIG. 1  there is shown a body containment device  10  for containing a body (not shown) in a cavity  12  thereof and the device  10  is to be used for hermetically sealing the body before subjecting the body to an analysis such as autopsy or for use in a mausoleum before burial or cremation. 
   The containment device  10  has an upper impervious flexible panel member  14 , a lower impervious flexible panel member  16  arranged opposite to the top panel member  14 , ends  18  and  20 , and edges  22  and  24 . The panel members  14  and  16  are laminated sheets co-extruded from layers of polymeric materials such as a polyethylene and nylon, and one or more layers metallic foils such as an aluminium foil bonded to layers of ethylene vinyl alcohol. In this embodiment the opposed edges  22  and  24  of the panels members  14  and  16  are weld joined together. Theses edges may be integrally formed in some cases. In this embodiment the ends  18  and  20  are open and they can be sealed following insertion of a body from either end into the cavity  12 . In the  FIG. 2  embodiment, the end  18  is heat sealed to form a closed end. The end  20  is open so that in use a body (not shown) can be inserted into the cavity  12 . The open end  20  is heat sealed following insertion of the body. The containment bag device  10  is then hermetically sealed. 
   The top panel member  14  has a pressure sensitive one way pressure release valve  26  which is set to release gases built up within the cavity  12  when the pressure therein is over a predetermined level. 
   The valve  26  can be connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) to evacuate air and other gases in the cavity  12  following sealing of the end  20 . The cavity  12  then is a partial vacuum. 
   Arranged along each of the welded edges  22  and  24  are four hand grips  28 . Each of the hand grips  20  are formed with an aligned cutout through the opposed edges and a plastic grip ring positioned therein. 
   Applied to the inside surface of the lower panel member  16  is a mixture of fluid absorbent materials  30  below a perforated layer  32  of polyethylene (also see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ). The absorbent materials are selected to absorb liquid and gaseous decomposition products from a body remain to be placed in the cavity  12  and on the layer  32 . 
   In this embodiment, the absorbent materials for the mixture  30  consist of about 20% of silica gel, about 5% of calcium chloride, about 5% of activated carbon, and the rest is slightly cross-linked sodium polyacrylate. A small amount (about 2%) of vapour retention materials such as a mixture of clay and calcium chloride is also added to the absorbent mixture  30 . 
   Turning to  FIG. 5 , each of the upper and lower panel members  14  and  16  have two layers of aluminium foil A sandwiched between and bonded to layers of ethylene vinyl alcohol B. Ethylene vinyl alcohol not only has the property of bonding to aluminium foil, it also absorbs some methane within the gaseous decomposition products. The aluminium foils prevent the decomposition products from seeping through the panel members into the atmosphere. 
   The inner most layer C is linear low density polyethylene so that the end  20  and/or the end  18  can be sealed by welding when the inside surfaces of the upper and lower panel members  14  and  16  are brought together with the application of heat thereat. The top layer D is nylon which is substantially tear and impact resistant so that the aluminium foils are protected from damage during normal use of the containment device  10 . 
     FIG. 6  shows details of the pressure sensitive one way pressure release valve  26 . The valve  26  in this embodiment has a first housing member  36  arranged positioned within the cavity  12 , and a second housing member  38 . The first housing member  36  has a first chamber  40  therein and a collar  42  for accommodating a one way valve member  44 . The collar  42  extends through an opening  46  in said upper panel member  14  and is configured for removable coupling to said second housing member  38 . In this regard, the collar  42  has external screw threads arranged to cooperate with internal screw threads of a sleeve  48  in said second housing member  38 . A compressible sealing ring  50  is positioned around the collar  42  for preventing air from escaping between the collar  42  and the sleeve  48 . A rubber washer  52  is also provided to close any air passage scaping between the first housing member  36  and the upper panel member  14 . The second housing member  38  has an open top  54  closed by a cap  56  with elongated vents  58 . A sealing diaphragm  60  with vent holes  62  is fixed to the cap  56  so that gases passing through the second housing member  38  are directed through the vent holes  62  and the elongated vents  58  into the atmosphere. 
   The first chamber  40  contains vapour retention media  68  for substantially retaining vapour entrained in the gaseous decomposition products entering into the chamber  40  through a number of vents  64  in a base  66  of the first housing member  36 . Air conditioning media  70  is also arranged in the first chamber  40  for trapping relatively large particles in the gaseous decomposition products. The vapour retention media in this embodiment are in the form of a vapour sieve consisting of a mixture of clay and calcium chloride. This vapour sieve has the following properties: 
   
     
       
             
             
             
           
         
             
                 
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
               Mesh size: 
               8 × 12 mesh (approximately 1.5-2.6 mm) 
             
             
                 
               Pore size: 
               10 Angstrom (10 × 10 -10 ) 
             
             
                 
               Absorption capacity: 
               24.2% (by weight) 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   The air conditioning media  70  in this embodiment is activated carbon. 
   It should be noted that while the vapour filtering media  68  and the air conditioning media  70  as shown are in stacked layers, they can be co-mingled as a mass within the first chamber  40 . 
   The second chamber  54  as shown contains bacteria filtering media  72  for substantially filtering bacteria before the filtered gaseous decomposition products passing through said vents  62  and  56  in the second housing member  38 . The chamber  54  in this embodiment also has three layers of air conditioning media  74 ,  76  and  78 . For this embodiment, the media  74  are petroleum based activated carbon, the media  76  are activated carbon fro coconut fibres and the media  78  are sodium polyacrylate. The layers of media  74 ,  76  and  78  can be stacked in any order. Further, the media  74 ,  76  and  78  and the bacteria filtering media can be co-mingled as a mass. 
   In use, a containment device  10  is separated from a roll of linearly connected containment devices and the unsealed end  18  is opened for insertion of a body into the cavity  12  of the separated containment device  10 . The open end  18  of the separated containment device  10  is then sealed by application of heat and/or pressure. The pressure release means  26  is then connected evacuation means such as a vacuum cleaner  80  for evacuating air within the cavity  12 . In this regard, the second housing member is unscrewed for removal from the collar  42  and the hose of the vacuum cleaner is connected to the collar  42  for drawing air within the cavity  12  through the valve member  44 . Thereafter, the second housing member  38  is again fixed to the collar  42 . 
   While the containment device  10  described in above embodiment is for containing a single body it should be noted the device  10  of present invention can be adapted for containing more than one body. 
   Tests have shown that the panel members  14  and  16  are strong and durable. The panel members  14  and  16  have the following properties: 
   
     
       
             
           
             
             
           
             
             
             
             
           
             
             
           
             
             
             
             
           
             
             
             
           
             
             
           
         
             
                 
             
             
               Material 
             
             
                 
             
           
           
             
                 
             
           
        
         
             
               Structure: 
               A co extruded film with layers of linear 
             
             
                 
               low-density polyethylene, nylon, and ethylene 
             
             
                 
               vinyl alcohol. 
             
             
                 
               Two Aluminium layer bonded between layers of 
             
             
                 
               polyethylene, nylon and ethylene vinyl alcohol 
             
             
               Made Form: 
               Rolls of lay flat tubing or sheets 
             
             
               Colour: 
               Natural (tinted colours may be an option) 
             
           
        
         
             
               Film Thickness: 
               200 microns 
                 
                 
             
           
        
         
             
               Film Width: 
               made at 770 mm though 1000 mm will be the 
             
             
                 
               final requirement 
             
             
               Length 
               Continuous up to 800 m long 
             
           
        
         
             
               Tensile 
               Yield Strength 
               MD 
               22.1 Mpa 
             
             
               Properties: 
                 
               TD 
               21.2 MPa 
             
             
                 
               Break Strength 
               MD 
               28.8 Mpa 
             
             
                 
                 
                 
               23.9 MPa 
             
             
                 
               Elongation at 
               MD 
               330% 
             
             
                 
               Break 
               TD 
               280% 
             
             
               Tear Strength 
               MD 
               4.5 N 
             
           
        
         
             
                 
               TD 
               6.6 
             
           
        
         
             
               Haze: 
               37% 
             
             
               Puncture 
               2.1 N 
             
             
               Resistance: 
             
             
               Impact Strength: 
               &gt;600 g 
             
             
               Odour Barrier: 
               To dihydrogen sulphide:- 
             
             
                 
               No detectable odours in free standing packs. 
             
             
                 
               In enclosed packs at 23° C., no odour after 
             
             
                 
               24 hours. 
             
             
                 
               In enclosed packs at 40° C. for 7 days, an 
             
             
                 
               unpleasant odour in head space but not strong. 
             
             
               Oxygen Barrier: 
               &lt;1.5 cc/m 2 /24 hr/atm at 23° C., 75% rh 
             
             
               Chemical 
               No detectable change in material when exposed 
             
             
               Resistance: 
               to a mixture of hydrogen sulphide gas, water 
             
             
                 
               and dilute hydrochloric acid, for 7 days at 
             
             
                 
               40° C. 
             
             
               Moisture Barrier: 
               &lt;3 g/m 2 /24 hrs at 38° C., 90% rh 
             
             
               Trial Status 
               All properties are indicative values and 
             
             
               Property Claim: 
               should not be taken as limiting specifications 
             
             
               Odour Barrier: 
               To dihydrogen sulphide:- 
             
             
                 
               No detectable odours in free standing packs. 
             
             
                 
               In enclosed packs at 23° C., no odour after 
             
             
                 
               24 hours. 
             
             
                 
               In enclosed packs at 40° C. for 7 days, an 
             
             
                 
               unpleasant odour in head space but not strong. 
             
             
               Oxygen Barrier: 
               &lt;0.75 cc/m 2 /24 hr/atm at 23° C., 75% rh 
             
             
               Chemical 
               No detectable change in material when exposed 
             
             
               Resistance: 
               to a mixture of hydrogen sulphide gas, water 
             
             
                 
               and dilute hydrochloric acid, for 7 days at 
             
             
                 
               40° C. 
             
             
               Moisture Barrier: 
               &lt;3 g/m 2 /24 hrs at 38° C., 90% rh 
             
             
               Trial Status 
               All properties are indicative values and 
             
             
               Property Claim: 
               should not be taken as limiting specifications 
             
             
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the present invention many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the invention as herein set forth in the following claims.