Texas Funeral Homes Are Dumping Blood, Embalming Down The Drain

A river that flows through the heart of Austin, Texas, may contain human blood and other remains.

An investigation done by the Austin American Statesman found that it's well known among Austin funeral homes that they flush blood, other bodily fluids, and embalming chemicals down the drain.

Officials at Austin Water, the city's water regulator, say they didn't know this was happening and the liquid has the potential to "compromise the treatment of wastewater entering the Colorado River." The Colorado River is where the city's wastewater is released after the purification process.

The liquid waste comes from the chemical process funeral homes use to preserve bodies, which is commonly done for open casket funerals.

Austin Water told the paper that funeral homes need a special permit in order to dump blood and chemicals down the drain under the state's environmental regulations.

"This ordinance is in place to protect against pollutants that could damage or obstruct the wastewater collection system or interfere with the wastewater treatment process," according to Austin Water.

Austin Water didn't provide the paper with specifics and later said  "wastewater treatment plants can process and treat funeral home medical waste to high standards as outlined by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality." 

However, Texas Funeral Service Commission Executive Director Glenn Bower argues that the common funeral home practice isn't a danger to people or the environment because the liquid waste is diluted.

"When I first learned how to embalm and I went to school and I started teaching, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is going down the drain.' But the things at people's residences that go down the drain is far worse, much more toxic," Bower said. 

Bower believes that the taboo surrounding death is what makes people uncomfortable with the idea of human remains in sewage.