§ 1517. Crematory operations.

Cemetery corporations that operate a crematory shall have the
following duties and obligations:

(a) Maintenance and privacy. (1) A crematory facility shall be
maintained in a clean, orderly, and sanitary manner, with adequate
ventilation and shall have a temporary storage area available to store
the remains of deceased human beings pending disposition by cremation,
the interior of which shall not be accessible to the general public.

(2) Entrances and windows of the crematory facility shall be
maintained at all times to secure privacy, including (i) doors shall be
tightly closed and rigid; (ii) windows shall be covered; and (iii)
entrances shall be locked and secured when not actively attended by
authorized crematory personnel.

(b) Cremation process. (1) The cremation process shall be conducted in
privacy. No person except authorized persons shall be admitted into the
retort area, holding facility, or the temporary storage facility while
the remains of deceased human beings are being cremated. Authorized
persons, on admittance, shall comply with all rules of the crematory
corporation and not infringe upon the privacy of the remains of deceased
human beings.

(2) The following are authorized persons: (i) licensed, registered
funeral directors, registered residents, and enrolled students of
mortuary science; (ii) officers and trustees of the cemetery
corporation; (iii) authorized employees or their authorized agents of
the cemetery corporation; (iv) public officers acting in the discharge
of their duties; (v) authorized instructors of funeral directing
schools; (vi) licensed physicians or nurses; and (vii) members of the
immediate family of the deceased and their authorized agents and
designated representatives.

(c) Identification of deceased human beings. (1) No crematory shall
cremate the remains of any deceased human being without the accompanying
cremation permit, required pursuant to section four thousand one hundred
forty-five of the public health law which permit shall constitute
presumptive evidence of the identity of the said remains. In addition,
all crematories situated outside the city of New York, must comply with
paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section four thousand one hundred
forty-five of the public health law pertaining to the receipt for the
deceased human being. From the time of such delivery to the crematory,
until the time the crematory delivers the cremains as directed, the
crematory shall be responsible for the remains of the deceased human
being. Further, a cremation authorization form must accompany the permit
required in section four thousand one hundred forty-five of the public
health law. This form, provided or approved by the crematory, must be
signed by the next of kin or authorizing agent attesting to the
permission for the cremation of the deceased, and disclosing to the
crematory that such body does not contain a battery, battery pack, power
cell, radioactive implant, or radioactive device, if any, and that these
materials were removed prior to the cremation process.

(2) Upon good cause being shown rebutting the presumption of the
identity of such remains, the cremation shall not commence until
reasonable confirmation of the identity of the deceased human being is
made. This proof may be in the form of, but not limited to, a signed
affidavit from a licensed physician, a member of the family of the
deceased human being, the authorizing agent or a court order from the
state supreme court within the county of the cemetery corporation. Such
proof shall be provided by the authorizing agent.

(3) The crematory shall have a written plan to assure that the
identification established by the cremation permit accompanies the
remains of the deceased human being through the cremation process and
until the identity of the deceased is accurately and legibly inscribed
on the container in which the cremains are placed.

(d) Opening of container holding the remains of the deceased human
being. (1) The casket, alternative container, or external wrappings
holding the remains of the deceased human being shall not be opened
after delivery to the crematory unless there exists good cause to
confirm the identity of the deceased, or to assure that no material is
enclosed which might cause injury to employees or damage to crematory
property, or upon reasonable demand by members of the immediate family
or the authorized agent.

(2) In such instances in which the casket, alternative container, or
wrappings are opened after delivery to the crematory, such action shall
only be conducted by the licensed funeral director or registered
resident delivering the remains of the deceased human being and if
necessary, with the assistance of crematory personnel and a record shall
be made, which shall include the reason for such action, the signature
of the person authorizing the opening thereof, and the names of the
person opening the container and the witness thereto, which shall be
retained in the permanent file of the crematory. The opening of the
container shall be conducted in the presence of the witness and shall
comply with all rules and regulations intended to protect the health and
safety of crematory personnel.

(e) Ceremonial casket cremation disclosure. In those instances in
which the remains of deceased human beings are to be delivered to a
crematory in a casket that is not to be cremated with the deceased,
timely disclosure thereof must be made by the person making the funeral
arrangements to the crematory that prior to cremation the remains of the
deceased human being shall be transferred to an alternative container.
Such signed acknowledgement of the authorizing person, that the timely
disclosure has been made, shall be retained by the crematory in its
permanent records.

(f) Transferring remains. (1) The remains of a deceased human being
shall not be removed from the casket, alternative container, or external
wrappings in which it is delivered to the crematory unless explicit,
signed authorization is provided by the person making funeral
arrangements or by a public officer discharging his or her statutory
duty, which signed authorization shall be retained by the crematory in
its permanent records.

(2) When the remains of a deceased human being are to be transferred
to an alternative container, the transfer shall be conducted in privacy
with dignity and respect and by the licensed funeral director or
registered resident who delivered those remains and if necessary, with
the assistance of crematory personnel. The transferring operation shall
comply with all rules and regulations intended to protect the health and
safety of crematory personnel.

(g) Commingling human remains. The cremation of remains of more than
one deceased human being in a retort at any one time is unlawful, except
upon the explicit, signed authorization provided by the persons making
funeral arrangements and the signed approval of the crematory, which
shall be retained by the crematory in its permanent records.

(h) Processing of cremains. (1) Upon the completion of the cremation
of the remains of a deceased human being, the interior of the retort
shall be thoroughly swept so as to render the retort reasonably free of
all matter. The contents thereof shall be placed into an individual
container and not commingled with other cremains. The cremation permit
shall be attached to the individual container preparatory to final
processing.

(2) A magnet and sieve, or other appropriate method of separation, may
be used to divide the cremains from unrecognizable incidental or foreign
material.

(3) The incidental and foreign material of the cremation process shall
be disposed of in a safe manner in compliance with all sanitary rules
and regulations as byproducts.

(4) The cremains shall be pulverized until no single fragment is
recognizable as skeletal tissue.

(5) The pulverized cremains shall be transferred to a sealable
container or containers whose inside dimension shall be of suitable size
to contain the entire cremains of the person who was cremated.

(6) The prescribed sealable container or containers shall be
accurately and legibly labeled with the identification of the human
being whose cremains are contained therein, in a manner acceptable to
the division of cemeteries.

(i) Disposition of cremains. The authorizing agent shall be
responsible for the final disposition of the cremains. Cremains must be
disposed of by placing them in a grave, crypt, or niche, by scattering
them in a designated scattering garden or area, or in any manner
whatever on the private property of a consenting owner or by delivery to
the authorizing agent or a person specifically designated by the
authorizing agent. Upon completion of the cremation process, if the
cemetery corporation has not been instructed to arrange for the
interment, entombment, inurnment or scattering of the cremains, the
cemetery corporation shall deliver the cremains to the individual
specified on the cremation authorization form or the funeral firm of
record. The delivery may be made in person or by registered mail. Upon
receipt of the cremains, the individual receiving them may transport
them in any manner in the state without a permit, and may dispose of
them in accordance with this section. After delivery, the cemetery
corporation shall be discharged from any legal obligation or liability
concerning the cremains. If, after a period of one hundred twenty days
from the date of the cremation, the authorizing agent has not instructed
the cemetery corporation to arrange for the final disposition of the
cremains or claimed the cremains, the cemetery corporation may dispose
of the cremains in any manner permitted by this section. The cemetery
corporation, however, shall keep a permanent record identifying the site
of final disposition. The authorizing agent shall be responsible for
reimbursing the cemetery corporation for all reasonable expenses
incurred in disposing of the cremains. Upon disposing of the cremains,
the cemetery corporation shall be discharged from any legal obligation
or liability concerning the cremains. Except with the express written
permission of the authorizing agent, no person shall:

(1) dispose of cremains in a manner or in a location so that the
cremains are commingled with those of another person. This prohibition
shall not apply to the scattering of cremains at sea, by air, or in an
area located in a cemetery and used exclusively for those purposes; and

(2) place cremains of more than one person in the same temporary
container or urn.

(j) Crematory operation certification. Any employee of a crematory
whose function is to conduct the daily operations of the cremation
process shall be certified by an organization approved by the division
of cemeteries. Proof of such certification must be posted in the
crematory and available for inspection at any time. Any new employees of
a crematory required to be certified under this section shall be
certified within one year of their employment. Any employees of a
crematory required to be certified under this section and retained prior
to the effective date of this paragraph shall be certified within one
year of such effective date. Renewal of such certification shall be
completed every five years from the date of certification.