US Cremation Equipment participated at the Association of California Cremationists (ACC) annual conference held in San Diego, Ca. July, 2013. Along with several other Cremation vendors, the attendees included Funeral Directors/Cemeteries with Crematories and Independent Crematory operators. All members in the meeting are located in California.
Guest Speakers included:
- Douglas O. Meyer, Esq. He explained the many ways in which Crematories get sued and how to best prevent being sued. The most common case he has experienced over the past 25 years is misidentification of the body or the cremains.
- Dean R. Fischer, Director, UCLA Donated Body program. Mr. Fischer gave a thorough presentation on the Alkaline Hydrolysis System that they currently have at UCLA Medical School. He went over the operation of the system, process, chemistry, throughput (3.5 to 4 hours per 150lbs case) and high costs involved in facilities and equipment acquisition.
- Mark Matthews, Environmental Advisor for CANA. Mr. Matthews reviewed current CANA statistics. The trend to cremate continues up and is expected to be over 50% in a few years. Estimates range from 2016 to 2020.
- Jim Draper, Draper Mortuary, CFDA Legislative Committee Chair. The long list of new regulations was reviewed along with current proposed legislation that will allow only 5 Alkaline Hydrolysis Systems in California over the next 5 years. The intention is to make a final decision after the 5 year time limit to allow the systems to stay or be removed.
ACC holds an annual meeting in Southern California every other year and in Northern California in the off years. Their membership roster includes approximately 80 members.
