Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 239 CMR - BOARD OF REGISTRATION IN EMBALMING AND FUNERAL DIRECTING › Title 239 CMR 3.00 - Registration Requirements; Standards of Business and Professional Practice › Section 3.10 - Removal, Preparation and Transportation - Other General Requirements

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) For purposes of
			 239 CMR 3.10, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
Remove or Removal
. The moving of a
				dead human body from a home, hospital, or other place of death to a Licensed
				Funeral Establishment for the purpose of preparing it for burial or
				cremation.
Ship or Shipment
. To convey a dead
				human body by train, boat, airplane, express or motor freight, or other means
				of transportation, either within, into, or out of the Commonwealth of
				Massachusetts after said body has been prepared for burial or cremation.
Transport
. To convey a dead human body
				in a closed hearse or other vehicle registered as a hearse used exclusively for
				the purpose of transporting dead human bodies or funeral equipment, either
				within, into or out of Massachusetts for any purpose other than that referred
				to in the definition of remove or ship in 239 CMR 3.10(1)(a).
(2) In order to recognize the inherent
			 dignity of the human body and protect the public health, sufficient
			 preservation and/or disinfection and refrigeration shall be applied to each
			 dead human body to guarantee temporary protection against excessive
			 decomposition.
(3) Removals shall
			 not be made from any place of death unless a death certificate or other
			 appropriate death pronouncement form, signed by a duly licensed physician, a
			 medical examiner or another person duly authorized by law, is in the possession
			 of the Type 3. In the absence of such a pronouncement, removal may take place
			 with the verbal approval by authorized/legally appropriate government
			 authorities unless otherwise prohibited by M.G.L. c. 114, § 45. Such
			 approval should be documented, in writing thereafter, with the details of said
			 approval.
(4) No Licensed Funeral
			 Establishment, nor any agent or employee thereof, shall handle, move or
			 transport any dead human body except under the supervision of, and with the
			 personal attendance in the vehicle of, a person registered by the
			 Board.
(5) No person registered by
			 this Board or his or her agent or employee shall remove, transport or otherwise
			 convey a dead human body except in a closed hearse or other vehicle used
			 exclusively for the purpose of transporting dead human bodies within the
			 Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Said vehicles shall be designed or equipped in
			 such a manner as to ensure that any dead human body transported therein is
			 concealed from public view. Said vehicles shall be registered and designated as
			 hearses by the Registry of Motor Vehicles. A person duly registered by this
			 Board shall be in personal attendance in the vehicle during any removal,
			 transportation or conveyance of a dead human body.
(6) Vehicles registered and equipped as
			 hearses and bearing hearse plates may be used only for removal or
			 transportation of dead human bodies, transportation of flowers, transportation
			 of funeral equipment, transportation of a clergyperson or other funeral service
			 officiant if such is the custom of the deceased, and/or transportation of other
			 Licensed Funeral Establishment personnel.
(7) If a body has not been embalmed, and the
			 body is to be buried or cremated within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
			 within 50 hours after death, said body shall be prepared by a Type 3, Type 6,
			 or Apprentice Embalmer. Said registrant shall thoroughly wash, disinfect and
			 sanitize said body; close all orifices with treated absorbent cotton; envelop
			 the entire body with clean sheeting or with provided clothing; and take any
			 other appropriate steps necessary to ensure that there will be no offensive
			 leakage or odors from the body prior to burial, cremation or other final
			 disposition. If a body has not been embalmed, and said body is to be buried or
			 cremated within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but said burial or cremation
			 will not occur within 50 hours after death, said body shall be prepared by Type
			 3, Type 6, or Apprentice Embalmer, and shall also be maintained at a
			 temperature between 34 E F and 39 E F. If the body cannot be maintained at
			 these temperatures, the body must be embalmed unless directed by the client not
			 to in writing. In cases of advanced decomposition where public health may be an
			 issue, a local board of health may direct a funeral director to embalm a body
			 notwithstanding the direction of a client.
(8) A body, once interred or placed in a
			 cemetery receiving vault, shall not be transported or shipped from the cemetery
			 where it lies unless it is encased in a hermetically sealed or air-tight
			 casket, box or container. A body embalmed by a Type 3, Type 6, or Apprentice
			 Embalmer and placed in a receiving vault for not over 30 days shall not be
			 subject to the requirements of 239 CMR 3.10.
(9) In all cases of cremation, a suitable
			 casket or alternative container shall be used. If a casket is used, that casket
			 may later be re-used as long as:
(a) the
			 casket is equipped with a removable liner or insert;
(b) the removable liner or insert is
			 completely removed and replaced with a new liner or insert after each
			 use;
(c) no such casket is used or
			 re-used after any non-removable portion of that casket has been soiled, stained
			 or otherwise contaminated by or from any human remains placed therein, or has
			 been placed within a rental casket insert;
(d) the customer who rents or re-uses that
			 casket has been informed, in writing, that the casket may have been used
			 previously and that it will be reclaimed by the Licensed Funeral Establishment
			 from which he or she has rented or obtained it immediately prior to final
			 disposition of the deceased; and
(e) the customer who rents or re-uses that
			 casket has signed a written disclosure or authorization form verifying that he
			 or she has received all of the information required by 239 CMR 3.10(10) in
			 writing and that he or she authorizes the Licensed Funeral Establishment to use
			 the removable liner or insert selected by him or her for the final disposition
			 of the deceased.