Set to launch in Sweden next year and in Korea the following year, promession is an eco-friendly method of disposal for human remains based on freeze drying. It was invented (and patented) in 1999 by Susanne Wiigh Mäsak. The word ‘promession’ is derived from the Italian word for ‘promise’ (promessa).

Promession takes place in 7 steps:
1. The body is frozen to -18 degrees Celsius (normally this occurs between 24 to 48 hours) and then put into a sealed unit called a Promator.
2. The body is weighed to determine how much liquid nitrogen is needed to freeze the body to -196 degrees Celsius; 1kg of liquid nitrogen is required for 1kg of body weight. This process takes approximately two hours, and the liquid nitrogen evaporates into the atmosphere as nitrogen gas.
3. The frozen body is then moved onto a belt that gives off small (5mm) vibrations. This takes approximatey 60 seconds and reduces the body to particles.
4. The particles are then transferred into a vacuum chamber where water is evaporated and released into the atmosphere as steam.
5. The dry powder is then passed through electrical currents and magnets that extract any existing metals.
6. The existing residue, which is approximately a third of the original body weight, is placed into a biodegradable coffin, which can be lined with an iron net which will rust away.
7. The coffin is buried at a depth of about half a meter, and in approximately 6 to 12 months, the remains, the coffin, and the net will become part of the soil nutrients.

While the volume of remains left by promession is up to twenty times that left by cremation, heavy metals (for example, mercury from dental fillings) are filtered out instead of released into the atmosphere as pollutants so the procedure meets the requirements of the new European Union Industrial Emissions Directive, which imposes strict limits on air, soil, and water pollution.

The first ‘promatorium’ will open in Sweden and will process approximately 1,500 bodies per year and South Korea is building memorial parks to support the process as well. “This is going to be the future solution for Korea. Traditional burials as they are today may not be allowed in future, as most graveyards in the country are now running out of space… It’s really a good chance for the planet I think,” stated Wiigh-Masak at a recent funeral expo.

Currently, promession is not available in the United States, so Phaneuf Funeral Homes is unable to provide this service.

On June 10, 2010, Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced the results of an Army investigation prompted by a series of articles published on salon.com citing employee misconduct at Arlington National Cemetery. “I deeply apologize to the families of the honored fallen resting in that hallowed ground who may now question the care afforded to their loved ones.” he told a Pentagon news conference.

The investigation, headed by Lt. Gen Steven Whitcomb, found cemetery mismanagement, improper contracting, and an outdated, paper-based record keeping system that had been largely neglected. Said Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) in a conference call with reporters on June 24, “We are one fire, or one flood, or one spilled Starbucks coffee away from some of those records being lost or spoiled.” Additionally, many of the issues uncovered in a 1997 inspection report were never addressed by cemetery staff.

Lt. Whitcomb said that at least 211 remains were identified as potentially mislabeled or misplaced and that there could be more. He told reporters “We found nothing that was intentional, criminal intent or intended sloppiness that caused this. … But of all the things in the world, we see this as a zero defect operation.” In addition to the mishandling of remains, the investigation found several headstones in a nearby stream, 117 grave sites without headstones, 94 grave sites marked as unoccupied that had headstones, four urns that were disinterred and dumped in an area reserved for removed grave dirt, and the Army said it is still not certain it has uncovered all the mistakes.

In response to the findings of the investigation, Arlington’s superintendent, John Metzler Jr., and his deputy, Thurman Higginbotham were removed from their posts. John Metzler had been there for 19 years and his father was also superintendent at one point as well. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), who chairs the House Armed Services Committee said that he is “downright angry,” and is demanding that the Army check all 300,000+ grave sites for accuracy. “I am afraid that the 200 irregularities associated with the gravesites may be only a fraction of the problem,” he said, “We must be prepared that a 100% survey of the cemetery and all of its operations, … will yield a large number of problems that must be addressed.”

More than 300,000 people are buried at Arlington National Cemetery, with an average of about 30 funerals are conducted there each day. Two presidents, many generals and admirals, and men and women who served in the US military, their spouses, and children are buried there. Since 1990, burials at Arlington have increased exponentially to 100,000, while the cemetery staff has decreased from 140 to 97.

While we have not had anyone contact us directly yet, as experts in Veterans arrangements, we are happy to help New Hampshire families who have loved ones interred at Arlington cemetery by connecting them to the right resources to make sure there are no problems.

On September 25, 2009, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) proposed a bill known as The Bereaved Consumer’s Bill of Rights Act of 2009. The purpose of the bill was to set new national standards to protect funeral and cemetery consumers. The bill seeks to expand and fortify the current FTC’s Funeral Rule, which at this time applies to funeral homes and not to cemeteries, crematoria, or sellers of funeral merchandise that are not associated with a funeral home.

The main points of the bill are to:
- Require providers of funeral goods and services to provide accurate prices to consumers before the transaction
- Require providers to ‘unbundle’ services so that consumers can buy only the services and merchandise they want from the cemetery and are free to make purchases from retail vendors.
- Require providers to disclose consumer rights, rules and regulations before the transaction.
- Require providers to keep detailed records of all burial transactions and locations, and to make the records available to regulators upon request.
- Require providers to be truthful about laws and regulations

This bill was introduced after an investigation at a Chicago cemetery, Burr Oak, revealed that several hundred graves may have been dug up and resold. The executive director of the Funeral Consumers’ Alliance, Joshua Slocum testified before legislators that while the Funeral Rule of 1984 has certainly helped consumers make educated choices when dealing with a funeral home, more and more grieving families are making funeral arrangements without the services of a funeral home and are in need of protections for the whole funeral process.

The state of Chicago has been very proactive in its response to the Burr Oak incident, passing the Cemetery Oversight Act, which provides a Consumer Bill of Rights for cemetery customers. The act was signed into law January 17 and took effect March 1 and includes a toll-free hotline for any consumer wishing to file a complaint against a cemetery. Much like the bill proposed by Rep. Rush, it provides a rigorous regulatory structure for cemeteries and providers of funeral services under the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations.

More and more families are choosing to make funeral arrangements online for their loved ones, and individuals are choosing to preplan their own funerals online. The reasons for this increase are numerous, including convenience, saving time, privacy, and flexibility.

Funeral Planning Online is Easy
Literally, your Grandmother can do it.  Human hosts guide visitors through each step in selecting funeral packages, and drop down charts make comparing the features and pricing of the packages easy.  As the family progresses through making the arrangements, they are guided by visual cues as to how far along they are in the process.  Along the way, the hosts periodically make recommendations for goods and services that support the package selected by the family.  Some examples are listed below:

• Flowers
• Caskets
• Burial Vaults
• Cards and Gifts
• Upgraded Obituaries (Tributes)
• Urns, Urn Vaults and Keepsakes
• Memorial Card, Candles, Bookmarks
• Veterans Flag Cases
• Access To Genealogical Records
• Cremations
• Traditional Funerals

Online Planning is Convenient and Saves Time
Using web technologies, families can make arrangements online from the privacy of their homes, without the need for an in-house visit to a funeral home.  Further, families are free to move ahead with the planning process at their own pace, and can walk away and return as they are comfortable.  The online host allows complete flexibility in moving backward to modify selections at any time during the process, as well.

Online Pre-planning
Individuals frequently take charge of their own funeral arrangements, relieving loved ones who are left behind from making difficult decisions in times of tremendous grief.  Online funeral planning makes the task of planning arrangements much easier, without the need to visit a funeral home.

Online Funeral Planning After a Death
There are few things in life more traumatic than the death of a family member, and the ease, convenience, and privacy of online planning can ease some of the tremendous burden, particularly for family members who may have difficulty with transportation and/or mobility. The Cremation Society of New Hampshire, an affiliated of Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium, was the first funeral and cremation firm in the country to begin offering complete on-line arrangements in 2000.  Since then, well over 1000 families have made their arrangements on-line with the Society.  In fact, last year, 60% of families served used the their website to finalize their cremation arrangements.  To learn more, go to www.csnh.com