Certification of the absence of contagious diseases in human ashes after flame-based cremation
This certification is based on the Québec legislation regarding the flame-based cremation process and the following elements:
- The combustion process eliminates all organs and tissue;
- The ashes contain only bone residues and non-organic particles;
- The public health bodies, such as the World Health Organization and the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, consider that the temperatures reached during flame-based cremation deactivate and destroy all infectious agents, including prions.
Legislation regarding the flame-based cremation process
In Québec, two regulations govern the flame-based cremation process:
- The Regulation respecting the application of the Funeral Operations Act
Section 117 of this regulation requires that the cremation of a body must be carried out in a manner that completely eliminates all organs and soft tissue, to the centre of the bones and skull. This section is in force since January 1, 2019. - The Clean Air Regulation
(Chapter Q-2, r. 4.1)
Sections 108, 125 and 127 of this regulation require:- that a crematorium have a primary combustion chamber and at least one secondary combustion chamber;
- that the gases reaching the last secondary combustion chamber must be brought to a temperature greater than 1,000°C for at least one second.
For more information
Information for Funeral and Crematory Practitioners
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
WHO infection control guidelines for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies . Report of a WHO consultation, Geneva, Switzerland, 23-26 March 1999
World Health Organization
Guidance for Importation of Human Remains into the United States for Interment or Subsequent Cremation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Memorandum D19-9-3 - Importation and exportation of human remains and other human tissues
Canada Border Services Agency
Last update: April 18, 2019