NEWSWEEK: What was your first reaction when you heard that many bodies had not been cremated, but were dumped instead on the property of Tri-State Crematory?

Lisa Carlson: It’s a perfect example of why a state funeral board should not be responsible for these things. (In Georgia, the State Funeral Board regulates crematories.) I think the Department of Health should be responsible for monitoring crematories. In Georgia, not only did the state fail but any funeral homes that used an unlicensed crematory are at fault.

How isolated do you think this incident is?

There was a similar case in California, in 2000, when the Department of Consumer Affairs revoked the license of the owner of AAA Cremation Services [near Sacramento]. There have been complaints against other crematories. When you look at the variation in state crematory regulation, you can see how under-regulated the crematories are.

Why aren’t crematories regulated by all states?

Traditionally, crematories were built on cemetery grounds. They were very much out in the open. That is still typical in New England. So, when they were out in the open like that and on the grounds of a cemetery operation, there was never a perceived need to regulate crematories. Unfortunately, Georgia, as well as some other states, require crematories to be run by funeral directors only. I think this is outrageous. There is nothing about running a crematory in the school curriculum for funeral directors or on the national funeral director’s exam. And any such law only drives up the cost of cremation. Having said all that, I do think crematories should be regulated.

By whom?

Not by a state funeral board. Having a funeral board regulate crematories is like having a fox watching the henhouse. A state funeral board typically consists of seven members–five of whom are funeral directors while two are consumer representatives. None are crematory officers. In Vermont, where our office is, the state doesn’t regulate crematories yet. A young man opened up a free-standing crematory and charged $550 for a cremation. He’s getting 200 to 300 a year now. Whereas an average funeral director does 50 funerals a year. This man has taken so much of their business that they are up in arms, though it’s been great for consumers. This man is willing to be regulated, but not by a funeral board. Why? Because they hate his guts. He is taking their business. You shouldn’t have to be a funeral director to run a crematory but you should have state licensure. He doesn’t want to be regulated by the competition. The only way to take it out of a backstabbing situation would be to put the regulatory controls under the state board of health.

There are states that are doing so already–Delaware, Hawaii, Virginia, to name a few. But do states have the resources to closely regulate all crematories?

Most state agencies are underfunded and understaffed. The only way that they can really regulate crematories or funeral homes is by beefing up the state regulatory agencies. The whole funeral industry needs better oversight, but it needs oversight with better consumer representation too.

Had you heard of Tri-State Crematory before this incident?

We’ve known about this group, Tri-State, for so long. They were a family operation and very low cost, which made them popular. But they were cutting their own throats in that regard. They didn’t have the money to fix the retort (a cremation chamber), when it broke down.

They had been very personable to work with from what I’d been told. We had never gotten complaints about them.

What might happen to Ray Brent Marsh, the operator of the Tri-State crematory? What about the funeral homes that contracted with the crematory?

I would like to think that desecration of a body is a felony, not a misdemeanor. There haven’t been too many cases like this. But, after the fact, I’m not sure about what good it does to lock [Marsh] up for 25 years or whatever. But my guess is that there will be a lot of funeral homes facing class-action lawsuits. He was dealing with funeral homes, not the public. The funeral homes could go after him, but the consumers will go after them. I got an e-mail from a family in Georgia today who said they know their loved one was supposed to be cremated by Tri-State. I told them to call a lawyer.

How does something like this happen? It seems as if it was going on for years before someone phoned in an anonymous tip.

The funeral homes are greedy. They simply look the other way. They become hardened. It’s a dead-body business. I’ve heard stories about people who needed the remains returned in time for the service, but grandma wasn’t cremated yet. So the home put the tag in another set of remains. They figure, what’s the difference? It’s just a bunch of bones at that point. I think it’s a hardening of sensibilities when you deal with death day in and day out. That, and Tri-State’s prices were so low that if you are a funeral home trying to clear a good profit, that’s the one you will use.

What would you tell someone who lost a loved one and is planning to have the remains cremated?

I would say, go through one of our consumer groups. Before the state of California shut down AAA, our group out there had already severed the relationship with the crematorium. We have about 120 local chapters around the country [http://www.funerals.org].

Also, you can always ask to see the crematorium and that should give you a sense. Some of them are in industrial areas and they may say it’s not suitable to visit. I would demand the right to visit though, or use a different one instead. By law, in Delaware, families must be permitted to see the cremation. Certainly, people have a right to say they want to check it out for themselves.

From a consumers’ standpoint, is the funeral industry getting better or worse?

Consumers are absolutely getting smarter. The baby-boomer generation is an information and take-charge generation. They wrote their own marriage vows, made us recycle.. now they are taking charge of the funeral experience as well. We are seeing more open price competition just in the last few years. Funeral homes will tell you that they see more funeral home shoppers. In a 1995 industry study, 90 percent of the public was not shopping around. Forty-five percent were picking a funeral home that had served them or their family in the past. Thirty-three percent just called nearest funeral home, often the only one in town, and 11 percent picked one based on ethnic or religious affiliation. That is changing now.

Georgia lawmakers are already working on bills that would force crematoriums to get state licenses, and strengthen laws against abusing dead bodies. Do you think other states might follow Georgia’s lead?

I think the situation in Georgia is highlighting the fact that, with the rapidly increasing rate of cremation, more regulation has to be put into place. I think this will certainly perk up everybody’s attention.. I think everybody is going to be paying attention now. What worries me is that they’ll try to regulate it under a state funeral board.