Article
ID: CBB001421210

Flush and Bone: Funeralizing Alkaline Hydrolysis in the United States (2014)

unapi
Death Controversies and disputes Bone and bones Environmentalism Sewerage Medical technology 20th century, late 21st century United States

This article examines the political controversy in the United States surrounding a new process for the disposition of human remains, alkaline hydrolysis (AH). AH technologies use a heated (sometimes pressurized) solution of water and strong alkali to dissolve tissues, yielding an effluent that can be disposed through municipal sewer systems, and brittle bone matter that can be dried, crushed, and returned to the decedent's family. Though AH is legal in eight US states, opposition to the technology remains strong. Opponents express concerns about public health and safety and about the dignity of our mortal remains. Proponents focus on AH's environmental benefits over cremation and earth burial, aligning the technology with the green burial movement. Drawing from historical sources, Science, Technology, and Society literature, interviews with funeral professionals, industry literature, and various media sources, this article examines four prominent conceptions of the dead human body as they are deployed (and inflected) by various funeral stakeholders seeking to exercise authority over the dead human body, to influence the trajectory of AH technology in the United States, and to chart a course for US deathcare culture in the twenty-first century.

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Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001421210/

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Authors & Contributors
Mart, Michelle
Dockry, Michael J.
Jordan, William R
Altenstetter, Christa
Tillack, Allison
Sutter, Paul S.
Journals
Public Understanding of Science
Endeavour: Review of the Progress of Science
Social Studies of Science
Science as Culture
Science
Humanities and Technology Review
Publishers
Utah State University Press
University Press of Kansas
University of Washington Press
Transaction Publishers
Stanford University Press
Johns Hopkins University Press
Concepts
Environmentalism
Medical technology
Controversies and disputes
Medicine
Political activists and activism
Conservation movement
People
Carson, Rachel Louise
Shatkin, Aaron J.
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
20th century
19th century
Places
United States
Europe
California (U.S.)
Japan
Bolivia
New York (U.S.)
Institutions
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; Partial Test Ban Treaty; Limited Test Ban Treaty (1963)
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