How Many Gallons of Embalming Fluid Are Really Buried Each Year In the US?

When we talk about sustainable final disposition options, one statistic is frequently presented but often seen with wide variation, the question of how many gallons of embalming fluid are buried each year in the United States.

The answers found can vary from “800,000 gallons” (1) to “4.3 million gallons” (2). The latter number, frequently mentioned by journalists and authorities in the green burial space (3,4), is attributed to Mary Woodsen of Cornell University.

The 4.3 Million Gallon Statistic

However, after extensive searching and resorting to asking the power-brain of AI, it seems there isn't a direct link to a specific, detailed study by Mary Woodsen on this topic publicly available online.

Chat GPT4 said, “The statistic about the use of embalming fluids and other materials in U.S. burials is frequently mentioned in various sources connected to the Green Burial Council and related sites, but these mentions do not link directly to an original research document.” A request to the GBC for the source article of the statistic did not receive an immediate response, however, through the GBC’s reputation there is no doubt that it does exist.

Regardless, the statistic is worth reviewing. The 4.3 million gallon statistic can be found quoted as far back as 2018 (3) and the cremation rate has increased in the last six years. So how can we use readily available data to substantiate a more current estimate of how many gallons of embalming fluid are buried in the US each year?

Necessary Information

To create a more current estimate we need to use some statistics.

• The US Census Bureau estimates the 2023 United States’ population to be just below 335 million. (5)
• The CIA World Factbook estimates the 2023 death rate in the United States to be 8.4 per 1000. (6)
• So that means in the United States there will be roughly 2.81 million deaths in a year.

Also;

• According to the National Funeral Directors’ Association, the estimated burial rate for 2023 is 34.5% (7), so 34.5% of the 2.81MM deaths result in roughly 971,000 burials.
• Of those 971,000 burials which could involve embalming, 54,600 would likely be subtracted, representing .0084 (the national death rate) of the 6.5MM practicing Jewish Americans (8) who would likely not be embalmed, as well as the 31,080 of the 3.7MM practicing Muslim American population (9) who would also not be embalmed. (The customary death rites for practitioners of Hinduism and Buddhism rarely involve embalming.)

How Many Burials Do Not Involve Embalming?

This leaves 885,320 burials with possible embalming. According to former Green Burial Council President, Ed Bixby it’s estimated that 8% of people choose green burials. (3) Whether that includes those people buried without embalming in the Jewish and Muslim traditions, he did not specify, but if we’re generous and say it is 8% of people already choosing burial and are in addition to Jewish and Muslim burials, that would subtract another 70,825 from annual embalmings. This would mean, in the United States there are an estimated 814,500 burials with embalming per year.

How Many Gallons Of Embalming Fluid Are Used Per Person? 

Roughly three gallons are used. What percentage of that is formaldehyde depends on the practitioner and what someone considers “embalming fluid”. Rarely, practitioners will use undiluted embalming solution, but the vast majority use a diluted solution.

What Is Embalming Fluid Made Of?

There are generally 16oz of concentrated embalming solution diluted with 112 oz of water to create one gallon of usable embalming fluid. So, each gallon of commonly used embalming fluid is more than 87.5% water.

Each manufacturer has a proprietary formula to their 16oz concentrated embalming solution, but according to manufacturer, Dodge’s Safety Data Sheet (10) for their commonly used Metasyn Normal concentrated embalming solution, 1.6-4 oz. (10-25%) is formaldehyde, a regulated carcinogen. Other regulated substances included are up to 0.8 oz each of methanol and propylene glycol, neither of which is a regulated carcinogen.

How Much Embalming Fluid Is Used Per Body?

There is a broad rule of thumb that one gallon of embalming fluid is used per 50 pounds of body weight. But the amount of embalming fluid used also depends on the size of the person. In practice, it generally works out to an average of about 3 gallons of embalming fluid per body, of which up to 12 oz is formaldehyde.

How Many Gallons Of Embalming Fluid Are Buried Each Year In The US? 

Each year an estimated 2,443,500 gallons of embalming fluid are buried in the United States. This amount is reached from an estimated 814,500 burials with embalming per year, times three gallons per body. Of those 2,443,500 gallons of embalming fluid used, there are generally up to 4 oz of formaldehyde per gallon, which means roughly 97,740 gallons of formaldehyde are buried with embalmed bodies in the US each year.

Room For Improvement

To improve the reliability of this statistic, it would be useful to see a broad survey of funeral practitioners to determine; a more representative average dilution ratio of bottle of concentrated embalming solution to water, how much diluted fluid is used per body, and the current rate of unembalmed/ecological burials being performed across all religious and ethnic populations.

Statistics used to make a point matter, so it would be beneficial to have a researcher or institution revisit the question of annual embalming fluid use in the US so we’re providing accurate, up-to-date information to the people just joining the green burial and sustainable disposition conversations. So moving forward, Interra Green Burial by Mueller Memorial will be using the statistics produced from this new analysis.