Dead body disposal and its health implication on man and its environment

Introduction

Dead body disposal is the practice or an act of removing the deceased/dead person from the environment. According to David (2011) there are various ways of removing the dead for disposal e.g. carriage in wooden bade, coffin etc. the method of the disposal of the dead have been practiced and are still (popular), include burial, cremation, exposure and communalism. In many cultures, human corpse was usually buried in soil. The act of burying corpse is thought to have begun around 200,000 years ago during the paleothic period by homo-sapiens before spreading out from Africa. As a result of that, burial ground is found throughout the world. Mould of earth/temples and underground caves were used to store the dead bodies of ancestors.

In modern’s times, the customs of burying dead people below ground with stone or concrete marker to mark the place is used in almost along madam culture. Same burial practices are heavily ritualized other are simply practical (Ebisike et al., 2009). He further stated that burial and disposal of dead generally existed in different race and culture. However, public health concern of the supervision of disposal of the dead as one of the primary today of sanitation. Some burial today obey the rules of the customs norms, traditions and practices of the people but fail to bring cognizance danger or consequence that arise from improper disposed corpse. The disposal of the dead sometime is place other in a public cemetery or private premises is been regulated by law.

Concept of dead body disposal

Disposal of human corpse is the practice and process of dealing with the remains of a deceased human being. Human corpses present both sanitation and public health risk. Like most animals when dies, their body start to decompose emitting a foul odor and altercating scavengers and decomposers, for these reasons corpse must be disposed off properly.

Method of dead body disposal

According to the Oxford Advance Learners Dictionary (6^th edition) describe method as a particular way of doing something. According to David (2011) the method of dead body disposal includes the following.

• Burial
• Cremation (burying)
• Exposure
• Cannibalism

1. Burial

According to Hornby (2007)  burial is the act or ceremony of burying the dead body. They are of three (3) types of burial the dead body. This include the following:

Earth burial: This involves the digging the earth, putting the corpse inside and covering it with earth. This method, they are of two (2) kinds.

• Cemetery
• House

Burial in caves: This is burying of the dead in caves, this involves blocking the holes of caves in mountainous areas after the corpse have been laid inside them.

Water burial: This involves dumping the dead at rivers and other water bodies to float away.

2.Cremation

This is done in two (2) ways

• Crude cremation
• Scientific cremation

Crude cremation: It involves gathering of woods to burn the dead bodies.

Scientific cremation: It involves the use of a crematorium machine in burning the dead bodies that result out ashes is either buried in the earth, stored in a bottle called urn or spread on a garden as manure.

3. Exposure

As the name implies, it means exposing the dead body for weathering conditions to act on it exposure makes the corpse to decompose leaving only the skeletons. It is cheap and increase the fertility of the mostly practiced when is mass death due to famines, war etc.

4.Cannibalism

This is eating of dead body. Some cultures practice is especially when the dead person was rich, famous, powerful and beautiful. They belief that eating the corpse will make them to be like the dead person.

Reasons for dead body disposal

Burial and disposal of dead are basically carried out for the following reasons.

1. Prevent odour nuisance and spread of infection: After death, a corpse will start to decay and emit unpleasant odors due to gases released by bacterial decompositions; burial prevents the living from having to see and smell the decomposition corpse which is a necessarily public requirement.The WHO advises the only corpse carried on infection strictly require burial for it aids quick of infection.
2. Cultural reasons: Respect for the physical remains a considered necessary. If left on top of the ground, stray animals may eat the corpse which is considered highly disrespectful to the deceased in many cultures. Burial can be seen as an attempt to bring honor to the deceased family from plain view. The pain of losing loved one can be lessened.

Laws regulating the disposal of dead

The Public Health Act 2010 and the public regulation act 2012 regulate the handling of bodies both by funeral, industrial professionals and by member of the public. The regulation expresses rules than explaining how the deceased are to be disposed. The regulating central includes:

• Premises and facilities for handily dead bodies.
• Waste disposal
• Handling of bodies including embalming, viewing the use of bags and storage of bodies vehicles.
• Restriction of animals
• Crematories and cremation.
• Maintenance of registers.

Health implication associated with dead body’s disposal

The health implication associated with dead bodies disposal becomes an urgent needs due to any health related risks, which are likely to be negligible, but it is important because of the possible social and political impact and trauma, the mental health of the society and the need to carry out the cultural obligation and the traditions to take care of dead rather than potential disease transmission.

1. Physical health risks

It causes outbreak of disease such as typhoid fever, cholera, or plague though they may transmit gastroenteritis or food poisoning syndrome to survivors if they contaminated streams, wells or other source of water.

2.Mental health risk

The psychological trauma of loosing loves ones and witness of death on a large scale of the greatest causes for concern. It is not necessary rush their burial or cremation. This does not allow for the correct identification and records taking of details of the dead, it give the time for the bereaved to carryout the cremation and cultural practice which would normally occur after death.

Those in close content with the death bodies, such as rascal warrant, there is a health rise from chronic infections disease which spread by direct contact including Hepatitis B and C, HIV contain intestinal pathogen, tuberculosis, cholera and others. There is little evidence of micro water from burials which dead bodies have contaminated water supplies; gastro enteritis has the most notable problem.

Measures to reduce the effect associated with the disposal of dead body

According to Ebisike et al. (2009) the following are the measures put in place to reduce the effect associated with the disposal of dead bodies.

General conditions

• No coffin or container shall be accepted at the cemetery unless the name of the deceased therein is clearly showed.
• The identity shown on the coffin or container should be verified at every funeral.
• If burial is to occur, the body shall be cremated individual and the corrected identify shall be maintained throughout the process.
• If burial is to occur and it’s coffin or container shall be placed in the identified grace.
• If requested by the applicant for cremation or burial, the lid of the coffin or container may be removed for the duration of the chapel service and subsequently replace prior to the committed, thus action cannot be permitted in cases were death is not notify able disease.
• No corpse shall be buried in less than 1.5m (6ft) nearer dwelling house.

Requirement relating to burial

After the coffin or container containing the dead body have been committed into the grave, they shall not be removed or otherwise disturbed except for lawful exhumation by licensed and faulty or in order of a coroner. Immediately, after the mourner have departed the grave side, the grave be entirely backfilled and made tidy. This work will not extend overnight.

Requirement relating to cremation

A body shall not be removed from the crematorium after the service of committed except by order of a coroner or for some other valid reasons.

• The container and the body shall be placed in a crematorium and cremation commenced no longer than 72 hours after the service of committal. Where cremation may not be carried out on the same day, the applicant for cremation shall be notified.
• The coffin or container inside shall not be opened or otherwise disturbed after the committal other than in exceptional circumstances and then only the presence of and with the permission of the applicant for cremation or for a lawful purpose as directed by a higher authority.
• Once a coffin or container has been place in a cremator, it shall not be disturbed until the process of cremation is complete.
• On completion, the whale of the cremation remains shall be removed from the cremator and reduced to granular form except where this it’s specifically not requested and shall be dispose off or released according to the instruction of the applicant of cremation.
• Cremation remains placed in the garden or remembrance shall be treated with relevance and respect if shown, they should be obscured by soil or brushing, where a local practice of showing in the form of a cross or with other pattern has developed it is acceptable practice, it does not result in the using chitty build-up or prolonged visibility of the cremated remains in suitable, unused container and where sent by registered post or secure carried capable of withstanding transit without damages.

(Ebisike, et al., 2009).

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