Flush and bone: the future of alkaline hydrolysis in Virginia
By Phil Olson
Thanks to modern chemistry, new alternatives for the final disposition of the formerly living are emerging. If you haven’t thought about having your body dissolved in a mixture of water and alkali, you soon might. But Brenda Pogge would rather you didn’t. On Jan. 10, Pogge, a Republican delegate representing the 96th District in Virginia, introduced House Bill 379 to the commonwealth’s Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. The bill would have made it a class one misdemeanor for anyone to dispose of human remains using a relatively new disposition technique called alkaline hydrolysis. The bill did not make it out of committee, but you can rest assured that Virginia’s lawmakers soon will resurrect discussions about alkaline hydrolysis.
Olson is an assistant professor in the Department of Science and Technology
in Society at Virginia Tech.
November 11, 2012 - 8:02 AM
The Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Virginia Blue Ridge lobbied against HB379 because it was definitely not friendly to consumers. After some investigation, we realize that Del. Pogge introduced the bill not knowing what it was all about. She was lobbied heavily by the Association of Independent Funeral Homes. You can read about the investigation in our last newsletter at http://www.funerals.org/affiliates/fcavbr/NLF12.pdf. Lobbyists are paid well and have money backing them. We are a volunteer organization (501-c-3)watching out for consumers.
I am very curious why Del. Pogge sponsored a bill to stop this process. What does she have against it? How much does she truly know? That is another story I would like to see written.