1. A. Upon receipt of human remains, a registered reduction operator, in the presence of the authorizing agent or representative of the funeral establishment engaging reduction facility services, shall:

   1. (1) Verify that the information on the wrist tag of the human remains is consistent with the documentation accompanying the human remains and consistent with the visual observation of the human remains;
   2. (2) Verify with a hand magnet or metal detector wand that any battery operated, implanted devices including pacemakers, defibrillators, or pain relief devices are removed before the process may begin;

   3. (3) Refuse to accept human remains for natural organic reduction if human remains are confirmed to have or suspected of having one or more of the following conditions:

      1. (a) A radioactive seed implant within thirty days of death;
      2. (b) A nuclear pacemaker;
      3. (c) Perishing as a result of a radiologic incident or accident, unless a written release is provided by the Maryland Department of Environment Radiological Health Program or other local, state, or federal agency in charge of the response to the radiological incident or accident; or
      4. (d) A presence of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or other prion disease, Ebola virus infection, mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, or any other infection, disease, or biological condition identified by the Director based on the reasonable recommendation of federal, state, or local health authority;
   4. (4) Remove and properly dispose of any hazardous object or any other materials that the registered reduction operator deems should be removed from the human remains or vessel in order to prevent harm to the public health or damage to the vessel;
   5. (5) Remove any jewelry on the human remains or in the vessel;
   6. (6) Return any removed jewelry to the authorizing agent or representative of the funeral establishment engaging natural organic reduction services; and
   7. (7) Obtain a signed, itemized receipt from the authorizing agent or representative of the funeral establishment engaging natural organic reduction services for the removed jewelry and retain the receipt as a permanent record.

2. B. Foreign objects removed from human remains:

   1. (1) Shall be treated as medical waste and disposed of accordingly; and
   2. (2) May not be donated until a sterilization process through a third party, recognized by the Office, to dispose properly of medical waste has been performed.

3. C. Materials identifying the human remains placed in the custody of a permit holder shall contain the following information:

   1. (1) Name;
   2. (2) Date of birth;
   3. (3) Date of death;
   4. (4) Name of funeral establishment or authorizing agent;
   5. (5) Gender; and
   6. (6) Name and relationship to the decedent of authorizing agent.
4. D. A permit holder shall not accept unidentified human remains for reduction.

Authority: Business Regulation Article, §5-204, Annotated Code of Maryland

Effective date: March 30, 2026 (53:6 Md. R. 287)