7002.7. (a) “Reduction facility” means a structure, room, or other space in a building or real property where natural, organic reduction of a human body occurs.
(b) “Reduced human remains” means the remains of a human body that have been reduced to soil through a process of reduction. “Reduced human remains” does not include foreign materials, pacemakers, or prostheses.
(c) “Reduction” means the process of transforming a human body into soil using the natural decomposition process, accelerated with the addition of organic materials through the following steps:
(1) The body of a deceased person is mixed together with natural materials and air and is periodically turned, eventually resulting in the body’s reduction to a soil material.
(2) Large tanks, containers, or similar vessels hold human remains together with straw, wood chips, or other natural materials until the process is complete.
(3) The processing of the remains after removal from the reduction chamber pursuant to Section 7010.3.
(d) “Reduction chamber” means the enclosed space within which individual human remains are reduced and any other attached, nonenclosed, mechanical components that are necessary for the safe and proper functioning of the equipment. A reduction chamber shall meet or exceed the requirements set by the State Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for destruction of human pathogens, including complying with Section 7714.3.
(e) “Reduced human remains container” means a receptacle into which human remains are placed after reduction.
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 399, Sec. 29. (AB 351) Effective January 1, 2023.)
Structure California Code