It appears that Virginia lawmakers acted very quickly and passed a new law regulating the funeral homes just within two weeks of Washington Post's reporting of mishandling of veteran's human remains.

In April 5 of 2010 The Washington Post reported how veterans' bodies were being mishandled and kept without refrigeration in the garage of National Funeral Home in Falls Church, which is owned by mega conglomerate Service Corporation International (SCI). One "embalmer-turned-whistleblower Steven Napper had been complaining about for months, first to his supervisors, then to the state. Napper documented the atrocities he saw in notes and photographs and turned them over to authorities." the newspaper reports.

Last week this story resurfaced again as the federal government penalized the National Funeral Home in Falls Church for 50,000 dollars for mishandling the bodies of the veterans.

However, what was not known immediately is how quickly the lawmakers in Virginia acted to fix the regulation ensure this never happens again. On April 21, just 16 days after the story was reported in Washington Post Virginia had passed the H201, which came to be known as Refrigeration Law. It now requires all funeral homes operating in the state to refrigerate or embalm bodies if more than 48 hours passes after death. No wonder SCI said it will add refrigerators to all the funeral homes operating the the company in Virginia.

The Act, published in Virginia Legislature's website, has four points.

§ 54.1-2811.1. Handling and storage of human remains.
A. Upon taking custody of a dead human body, a funeral service establishment shall maintain such body in a manner that provides complete coverage of the body and that is resistant to leakage or spillage, except during embalming or preparation of an unembalmed body for final disposition; restoration and dressing of a body in preparation for final disposition; and viewing during any
visitation and funeral service.
B. If a dead human body is to be stored for more than 48 hours prior to disposition, a funeral services establishment having custody of such body shall ensure that the dead human body is maintained in refrigeration at no more than approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit or embalmed. A dead human body shall be maintained in refrigeration and shall not be embalmed in the absence of express permission by a next of kin of the deceased or a court order.
C. If a dead human body is to be stored for more than 10 days prior to disposition at a location other than a funeral service establishment, the funeral service establishment shall disclose to the contract buyer the location where the body is to be stored and the method of storage.
D. Funeral services establishments, crematories, or transportation services shall not transport animal remains together with dead human bodies. Further, animal remains shall not be refrigerated in a unit where dead human bodies are being stored.

This entire incident raises and important question about the locally and nationally owned funeral homes. Does your town's funeral home refrigerate and handle the human bodies properly and with dignity?

Written by Armen Hareyan