Dalton Board of Health Amends Green Burial Verbiage

DALTON, Mass. —T he Board of Health amended the green burial guidelines during its meeting on Wednesday. 

 

In April, the board approved the guidelines stating that "Ebola or any other diseases that the CDC or Massachusetts Department of Public Health deem unsuitable for green burials can not be approved by the town Board of Health."

 

Following communication with the state Department of Environmental Protection, the board on Wednesday voted to revise it to add Anthrax and Prion to the list of diseases deemed unsuitable for green burials.

 

The revised guidelines say that if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or state DEP "deems any disease unsuitable for green burials, the Board of Health will not approve it. Known examples include Ebola, Anthrax, and Prion diseases."

 

Over the last few months, the board has been navigating how to include communicable diseases in its guidelines to prevent them from spreading.  

 

During this process, Town Health Agent Agnes Witkowski worked to clarify the state's guidelines, attending a presentation on the practice and consulting with people from various organizations. 

 

Following this line of inquiry, it was determined that the state is behind in developing guidelines for green burials.