A medical school in Fort Worth, Texas, allegedly illegally disposed of bodies after they were used for training and research, according to a cease-and-desist letter obtained by NBC News.
The Texas Funeral Service Commission said an Oct. 24 onsite investigation revealed that the University of North Texas Health Science Center used alkaline hydrolysis, or water cremation, to dispose of human remains.
The school "was following Texas Administrative Code, Section 479.4, which is still in effect today, but proactively stopped using alkaline hydrolysis on Sept. 16," a university spokesperson told Becker's. The administrative code allows human remains to be cremated or disposed of by alkaline hydrolysis.
The cease-and-desist letter cited the Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 716 and Texas Occupations Code Chapter 651, which define cremation as "the irreversible process of reducing human remains to bone fragments through direct flame, extreme heat, and evaporation." The commission said these laws supersede the administrative code.
Cremation through alkaline hydrolysis uses water, chemicals and heat to liquefy the body and leave behind a dry, ash-like residue, NBC News reported Nov. 15.
The university halted the practice of using alkaline hydrolysis Sept. 16, the same day that NBC News published an investigation on the Health Science Center. The investigation found hundreds of unclaimed bodies being dissected and studied without consent, leading to the body donation program being suspended and multiple firings.