Embalming Chemicals - History

History

Prior to the advent of the modern range of embalming chemicals a variety of alternative additives have been used by embalmers, including epsom salts for edemic cases and milk in cases of jaundice, but these are of limited effectiveness.

During the American Civil War, the Union Army, wanting to transport slain soldiers from the battle fields back home for burial, consulted with Dr. Thomas Holmes who developed a technique that involved the draining of a corpse’s blood and embalming it with a fluid made with arsenic for preservation.

Embalming chemicals are generally produced by specialist manufacturers, two of the oldest and biggest being The Dodge Company and The Champion Company. Other companies include; Egyptian, now, U.S. Chemical and Pierce Chemical Company, Bondol Chemical Company, and Hydrol Chemical Company. But there are many smaller and regional producers such as Lear Barber in Sheffield, Genelyn, Frigid Fluid Co., and Trinity Fluids, LLC to name but a few. Additionally some funeral homes generate their own embalming fluids, although this practice has declined in recent decades as commercially available products have become of better quality and more readily available.

Following the EU Biocides Legislation some pressure was bought to reduce the use of formaldehyde. The chemical is not banned in Europe, however there is a need to assess the use of the chemical. IARC Classes Formaldehyde as a Class 1 Carcinogen. There are alternatives to formaldehyde and phenol-based fluids, but these are technically not preservatives but rather sanitising agents and are not widely accepted, however the need to consider the hazards from using the chemical may reduce the use of formaldehyde.