Mortuary Facilities Research Articles

Mortuary operations in the aftermath of the 2009 Victorian bushfires

On the day of the 2009 Victorian bushfires the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine activated its emergency plan. Within 48 h a temporary body storage facility was constructed adjacent to the existing mortuary. This temporary facility had the capacity to store up to 300 deceased persons. Pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists, police and mortuary assistants responded from all around Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. The existing forensic mortuary and staff were divided into two areas: DVI (disaster victim identification) and “routine operations”. A high priority for the mortuary was to ensure the casework of the “routine” deceased persons (those cases which were not related to the bushfires) was handled concurrently and in a timely manner. On admission each set of victim remains was given both a Coroner's case number in addition to the DVI number allocated at the scene. The case was CT scanned, examined by a pathologist, an anthropologist, and odontologist and in some instances a fingerprint expert. Where possible a DNA sample was taken. All processes, samples, labels and paperwork underwent a quality assurance check prior to the case completion. Regular audits were conducted. All of post mortem examinations were completed within 20 days of admission. Occupational health and safety issues of the staff were a high priority; this included correct manual handling, infection control and psychological debriefings. During the operation it was found that some remains were contaminated with asbestos. Procedures were set in place to manage these cases individually and each was isolated to reduce the risk of exposure by staff to asbestos. This overall mortuary operation identified a number of significant challenges, in particular the management of multiple parts of human remains for one individual. A new procedure was developed to ensure that all human remains, where possible, were reconciled with identified deceased persons prior to the release to the funeral director. It also highlighted the need to have well documented plans in place including plans for temporary mortuary facilities.

High throughput adult cadaver axial imaging: service logistics and requirements

It remains unknown to date the extent of the potential role of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in autopsy practice in the United Kingdom (UK). If CT and/or MRI were accepted to have a role beyond that already been undertaken within the UK and implemented on a national high throughput scale, what impact would it have upon the National Health System (NHS) where, in the UK, the majority of mortuary facilities and practitioners work? This symposium paper explores the logistics, personnel and facilities that may be required to assist those contemplating developing such a provision of service. The discussion presented is based upon the concept that all cadavers normally subjected to invasive medico-legal (coroner’s) autopsy would be imaged following receipt at an NHS hospital located mortuary. It is based on the experience of the East Midlands Forensic Pathology Unit and Imaging Department, University Hospitals of Leicester in examining cadavers using CT within the NHS where all of these problems have been encountered previously.

Introduction: The Space and Place of Death

Archaeologists typically study death from the perspective of mortuary patterns, devising classifications of disposal facilities and their dead inhabitants along parameters such as technique and materials of tomb construction, position and orientation of the deceased, and paleobiology of the interred populations. From this information a society's organization and level of sociopolitical complexity is reconstructed. Less common among archaeologists is attention to the spatiality of death practice, the unifying focus of this volume. Archaeologists are concerned with issues such as the siting of mortuary facilities; the interplay of agency and expressive style in the funerary context as these relate to the physical space and taking place of mortuary custom; and the recognition, cultural reconstruction, and explanation of death landscapes. These perspectives provide a more holistic framework for achieving an ethnographically sensitive archaeology of death. The studies in this volume range widely in areal location, cultural and temporal focus, and theoretical approach.

Successful Reduction of Morticians' Exposure to Formaldehyde during Embalming Procedures

A case study of the effectiveness of upgraded ventilation engineering controls in a military mortuary facility was performed. Worst-case mortician formaldehyde exposures generated during the use of highly concentrated embalming fluid (required to meet a 2-week preservation standard for overseas case processing and return of the deceased to the continental United States) were documented. A detailed exposure evaluation via consecutive short-term exposure limit (STEL) samples facilitated characterization of the hazard potential for each distinct phase of the embalming process. After baseline screening with 3M passive formaldehyde dosimeters, a total of 145 personal and area STEL sorbent tube samples were collected during six embalming cases between 1994 and 1998. Prior to the installation of local exhaust ventilation controls, personal time-weighted average (TWA) exposure values during embalming activities were 3.19-7.69 ppm for a mean of 4.80 ppm (calculated 8-hour TWA exposures for mortician workshifts were 1.32-2.86 ppm, mean 1.93 ppm). Initial STEL exposures ranged from a low of 0.14 during preembalming body preparation to 20.89 ppm during aspiration of arterial fluids (mean = 4.16 ppm). Embalming room general area samples revealed a mean concentration of 0.76 ppm. With ventilation upgrades installed in 1997, calculated personal 8-hour TWA exposure values during embalming procedures were reduced. STEL exposures decreased to between 0.11 to 3.44 ppm (mean of 0.55 ppm); embalming room general area sample concentrations decreased to a mean of 0.089 ppm. Because occasional 15-min peak exposures continued to exceed the 2.0 ppm Occupational Safety and Health Administration STEL during tasks involving large volumes of embalming fluid or direct contact with paraformaldehyde preservative powders, general room ventilation was further upgraded to 25 room air changes per hour.

Mortuary Patterns of Regional Elites in the Lake Patzcuaro Basin of Western Mexico

Based primarily upon evidence from the site of Urichu in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin of Michoacán, we propose that changes in the burial practices of local elites document a transformation of these elites from highly ranked local chiefs into a socially stratified elite class associated with the emergence of the Tarascan state. Two distinctive mortuary patterns that represent the Classic-Epiclassic and Late Postclassic periods are presented. These patterns vary in the age and sex composition of differing mortuary facilities, the preparation and treatment of the bodies, the mortuary facilities, the types of burial goods, and the location of the burials within settlements. Comparison to mortuary practices from the sites of Loma Santa María (Morelia), Guadalupe (Zacapu Basin), Tingambato, and Tres Cerritos (Cuitzeo Basin) place these patterns in a regional context. By contrasting the earlier mortuary pattern, which is associated with societies poorly known, with the later mortuary pattern, which is associated with the well documented Tarascan empire, it is possible to propose a model of a transformation in regional political economies associated with the emergence of the Tarascan state in the Postclassic period. This transformation involved a shift in elite identity from one primarily associated with imported finished goods from distant powerful centers and control of prestige goods networks, to an identity primarily associated with locally produced, distinctively Tarascan, goods and control of tributary, military, political, and ideological networks.

Design for a hospital mortuary

This article describes the design of a new Mortuary at Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital. It is hoped that this information will be of assistance to those who are involved in upgrading or designing a Mortuary facility.