The recent situation with the Tri-State Crematory in Noble, Georgia has funeral service regulatory boards across the country reviewing all existing laws on the books relating to cremation–and understandably so. There’s not much of a point in having existing laws if they cannot be enforced, but the situation in Georgia appears to go a little further than that.

Based on information from the internet’s Funeral Wire, Georgia’s Funeral Services Board tried for two years in the mid-1990s to shut down Ray Brent Marsh and his Tri-State Crematory in Noble, Georgia. They apparently wanted the crematory closed–or at least inspected, but a loop hole in the existing law stood in the way. Instead of asking legislators to sew up the loophole, the board gambled that Mr. Marsh and his unregulated crematory would go away–something that we now know did not happen. The loophole in the law hinged on a single definition: "Crematory means a place that is owned by a funeral director or funeral establishment where cremation is performed and which is open to the public." Tri-State Crematory reportedly dealt only with funeral homes. The actual arrangements with families were made by funeral homes. The funeral homes would collect fees from the families and then subcontract with the crematory for the actual cremation–making Tri-State Crematory exempt from the law.

Had Georgia used the definition originally proposed in 1989, things should have turned out differently. The original proposed definition in 1989 stated: "Crematory means an establishment where cremation is performed in which the dead human body is reduced to residue by intense heat." In addition, a legislative exemption was given to the Tri-States Crematory which further complicated the problem.

It appears as though more than 300 bodies that were supposed to have been cremated were discovered on property owned by or close to the crematory. Costs to identify these remains and to allow for proper disposition is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

The terrible situation in Georgia has opened the eyes of the funeral service regulatory community all across the country. The only state not licensing funeral homes, embalmers and funeral directors (Colorado) is considering legislation to do so. States without laws to license and regulate crematories are considering laws to do so, and states with laws in place to regulate crematories and cremation are reviewing them to make sure that no similar loopholes exist and that the laws are being adequately enforced.

News such as this affects almost everyone who has chosen cremation as a means of final disposition of a loved one and brings to light the need for effective laws to stop this kind of thing from happening. It also serves as a reminder to states with laws already on the books to check and ensure that current enforcement of such laws is being conducted in an appropriate manner. While the Georgia situation is not the only one of its kind, it certainly is one of the worst situations involving the cremation process. The state of Ohio has had laws on the books since 1998 to regulate crematories, but they have not yet been put in place, due to the time-consuming process of drafting rules and developing the appropriate paperwork. Laws and regulations have been slow to catch up with cremation. The choice of cremation continues to increase dramatically–causing an immediate need of regulation and licensing.