A new bill backed by Sen. Bill Heath would allow bodies to be dissolved in a chemical solution as part of the cremation process in Georgia.
Senate Bill 296 would change the wording of a law governing cremation to make clear the use of a process called Alkaline Hydrosis, or "aquamation" is allowed.
The process uses a mixture of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide with warm water to dissolve the body, and leave objects like artificial joints behind.
Funeral home owner Mindy Miller-Moats said the process is already being used by research facilities and veterinary hospitals because it is more sterile and environmentally friendly. She describes the process “speeding up the natural decomposition process.”
Under current law aquamation is not illegal, but funeral homes have to own a large industrial furnace in order to be licensed to cremate bodies. The change would eliminate that requirement for funeral homes that use the process.
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