Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §1405, first ¶, as amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:

Any person, firm or corporation within the State, with the approval of the Department of Health and Human Services may establish and maintain suitable buildings and appliances for the cremation of bodies of the dead and, subject to the regulations of the department, may cremate such bodies and dispose of the ashes of the same. A person, firm or corporation approved by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to this section shall follow procedures established for removal of dental amalgam and emissions capture established in Title 38, section 1672.

Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §1672 is enacted to read:

§1672.__Cremation; dental amalgam

1.__Removal of fillings; capture of emissions.__Beginning October 1, 2006, a person, firm or corporation within the State that has received the approval of the Department of Health and Human Services to establish and maintain suitable buildings and appliances for the cremation of bodies of the dead in accordance with Title 32, section 1405 is subject to the requirements under this section.__In cremating a body that has dental amalgam fillings, the person, firm or corporation in charge of the cremation shall either:

A.__Remove the dental amalgam fillings from the body prior to cremation and properly dispose of them; or

B.__Capture the mercury from emissions prior to release into the air.

2.__Rulemaking.__The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.__Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

SUMMARY

This bill requires that, beginning October 1, 2006, a crematorium either remove dental amalgam fillings from a body prior to cremation or capture mercury from emissions prior to release into the air. The bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt routine technical rules to implement this requirement.