Current through Register Vol. 48, 12, December 27, 2024
A.
Upon declaration of a Public Health Emergency, DHEC will notify coroners,
medical examiners, and funeral directors of specific procedures to be followed
in handling and disposing of remains of individuals known or presumed to have
died from or been exposed to contamination or communicable disease. This may
include individuals determined to have died as a result of other causes, such
as trauma, but who had been exposed prior to death.
B. Prior to disposal
i. Every person in charge of disposing of any
human remains must maintain a written record of each set of human remains and
all available information to identify the decedent and the circumstances of
death and disposal. If the human remains cannot be identified, prior to
disposal, a qualified person must, to the extent possible, take fingerprints
and one or more photographs of the human remains, and collect a DNA specimen.
The Commissioner may by order require collection of specific tissue samples or
performance of specific tests. All information gathered under this paragraph
must be promptly forwarded to DHEC. Identification must be handled by the
agencies that have laboratories suitable for DNA identification.
ii. All human remains of a person who has
died from an infectious disease must be clearly labeled with all available
information to identify the decedent and the circumstances of death. Any human
remains of a deceased person with an infectious disease must have an external,
clearly visible tag indicating that the human remains are infected and, if
known, the infectious disease. The person in charge of disposing of such human
remains shall report to DHEC the identifying information and the date, means
and place of disposal.
C. If DHEC concludes that there is no public
health reason to require disposal within twenty-four hours of human remains of
persons who have died of an infectious disease, DHEC shall so notify coroners,
medical examiners, and funeral directors.
D. Mass graves: In the event of mass
casualties in excess of the provisions of the State Emergency Operations Plan
to provide for disposal, mass graves shall
i.
not be located in floodways, wetlands, karst formations, or in unstable
terrain;
ii. have at least two feet
vertical separation above groundwater;
iii. be at least two hundred feet from the
nearest property line, potable well, or irrigation well, and one hundred feet
from surface waters (including ephemeral or seasonal streams);
iv. provided with daily cover to control
vectors, hydrated lime, and absorbent material;
v. provided with adequate final cover,
fencing and venting to minimize the need for long-term care.
vi. The corners of mass graves shall be
marked with permanent monuments and the location recorded where title to real
property is recorded.
vii. A
permanent record of the names or other identifying information of all human
remains shall be kept.
