Dordrecht cemetery opened 30 coffins for experiments without consent
A cemetery in Dordrecht opened 30 coffins in burial vaults multiple times without the surviving relatives’ knowledge or consent. Poor ventilation slows down the decomposition in these graves, and cemetery employees added liquid to the remains to experiment with accelerating the process, NU.nl reports from an investigation commissioned by the municipality, the results of which were published on Wednesday.
Burial vaults are typically concrete structures with a closed lid. They’re used as family graves because up to four coffins can be stacked on top of each other. These vaults have little oxygen, which slows down the decomposition process.
Cemetery employees first secretly opened the burial vaults in 2013 to check on the decomposition process of the bodies inside. This was done with the permission of then-Alderman Bert van de Burght, the report showed. They checked again six months later and found that the decomposition process had still not started.
The employees then decided to experiment with ways to speed up the process. They conducted these experiments on three burial vaults, each containing four bodies. The first vault was treated with a fluid, the second received improved ventilation, and the third was left unchanged as a control. Between April 2015 and October 2016, the employees opened the graves four times to monitor the decomposition process.
The deceased involved were all buried in 2007, and their burial rights had not yet expired. The cemetery also did not obtain permission from the surviving relatives or apply for a permit for the work. The experiments happened after closing time to avoid “unrest.”
With the publication of the investigation results, the municipality said that the tests were conducted “with the intention of finding a solution” to the problem surrounding burial vaults. Nevertheless, Dordrecht called the handling of the situation “particularly distressing.”
The surviving relatives were informed of the investigation report, with guidance from Victim Support. Alderman Marc Merx apologized on behalf of the municipality. “These kinds of drastic measures should never have taken place without their knowledge or consent.”
The investigation also revealed that the involved employees may have been exposed to health risks. The TNO research institute is conducting further investigation into this.
Dordrecht asked for “national support” to resolve the problem surrounding burial vaults. Other cemeteries in the Netherlands are also seeking solutions for bodies that do not decompose properly.
