A brief look at its beginings to now
It may seem like a modern process, but Alkaline Hydrolysis was first developed and patented by Amos Herbert Hanson in 1888. Hanson was an innovative farmer who was looking for a more efficient way to take farm animals who had passed, and use their bodies to fertilize his lands. He saw that in death, we can still benefit the world around us. He turn what had been considered a negative burden, into a beautiful transition back into new life.
The process would continued to be used on farms until the early 1990s when it would continued to modernize. Dr. Gordon Kaye, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Dr. Peter Weber, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Albany Medical Collage proved their theory that Alkaline Hydrolysis could be used to separate radioactive material from the bone remnants of animals and patients who had undergone testing and treatments. This was, and still is, a massive breakthrough for the safe disposal of contaminated bodies, that could otherwise pose a threat to the public as well as funeral professionals.
From there the first commercial system in order to process the bodies of those donated to science was installed, and over the next ten years this process would continue to be used by the body donation program in both hospitals and universities.
In 2010 the first funeral home in Ohio, USA would offer Alkaline Hydrolysis as a form of disposition offered to families. However, this was not the smooth transition they had hoped for. Shortly after they began offering the service to families, the State regulators stepped in to put a stop to issuing permits for this form of disposition. Although there are many parts of the USA and Canada where the process is now legal to offer families, it is still an issue many places, like British Columbia, are still facing today.
In 2012 Saskatchewan became the first province in Canada to legalize Alkaline Hydrolysis as a disposition that funeral homes can offer to families. This was followed in 2014 by Ontario, 2015 by Quebec, 2020 in the Northwest Territories, and 2021 in newfoundland.
In BC we have been asking our government since 2013. Although our government seemed keen at first, we continued to see push back.
Now in the 2020s, we continue to fight for our right to chose Alkaline Hydrolysis as a legal option for how we and our loved ones can be laid to rest.
We continue to fight to show our governments the facts, and the Alkaline Hydrolysis is a beneficial disposition to both our mourning practices and our earth.
In the face of climate change our government can no long allow fear and misinformation to color their opinions on this healthy, well studied practice. We, as a population, must show them that this is what we want, for ourselves and our earth.
The process would continued to be used on farms until the early 1990s when it would continued to modernize. Dr. Gordon Kaye, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Dr. Peter Weber, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the Albany Medical Collage proved their theory that Alkaline Hydrolysis could be used to separate radioactive material from the bone remnants of animals and patients who had undergone testing and treatments. This was, and still is, a massive breakthrough for the safe disposal of contaminated bodies, that could otherwise pose a threat to the public as well as funeral professionals.
From there the first commercial system in order to process the bodies of those donated to science was installed, and over the next ten years this process would continue to be used by the body donation program in both hospitals and universities.
In 2010 the first funeral home in Ohio, USA would offer Alkaline Hydrolysis as a form of disposition offered to families. However, this was not the smooth transition they had hoped for. Shortly after they began offering the service to families, the State regulators stepped in to put a stop to issuing permits for this form of disposition. Although there are many parts of the USA and Canada where the process is now legal to offer families, it is still an issue many places, like British Columbia, are still facing today.
In 2012 Saskatchewan became the first province in Canada to legalize Alkaline Hydrolysis as a disposition that funeral homes can offer to families. This was followed in 2014 by Ontario, 2015 by Quebec, 2020 in the Northwest Territories, and 2021 in newfoundland.
In BC we have been asking our government since 2013. Although our government seemed keen at first, we continued to see push back.
Now in the 2020s, we continue to fight for our right to chose Alkaline Hydrolysis as a legal option for how we and our loved ones can be laid to rest.
We continue to fight to show our governments the facts, and the Alkaline Hydrolysis is a beneficial disposition to both our mourning practices and our earth.
In the face of climate change our government can no long allow fear and misinformation to color their opinions on this healthy, well studied practice. We, as a population, must show them that this is what we want, for ourselves and our earth.
