Last updated: March 16, 2022
Article
Safety
Encouraging the public to visit and explore public burial grounds and cemeteries increases awareness of the value of these sacred sites. If visitation is promoted, owners and property managers must be responsible for ensuring that their sites are safe for staff and visitors. This responsibility includes monitoring the condition of grave markers.
Historic cemeteries can be hazardous workplaces for staff members, consultants, contractors, and volunteers. Awareness of potential hazards in a historic cemetery and careful planning are essential to avoiding injury. Maintain an appropriate first aid kit on site for minor injuries and have an emergency plan in place that includes contact information for medical assistance.
Creating a safe work environment in historic cemeteries requires appropriate planning for each project, starting with personal protective equipment. Suitable clothing and personal protective equipment should be fundamental safety requirements. Supportive shoes such as steel toe work boots or sturdy lace-up shoes help protect ankles and feet from injury, just as good work gloves help protect hands from cuts, scrapes, and splinters. Whether using a chipper, drill and other power tools or equipment, safety glasses or goggles are essential. A back brace often is recommended for heavier lifting tasks. Do not work alone or, if you must, tell someone where you are and when you expect to return.
During hot weather, heat stress is a present risk. Besides knowing the signs of heat stress, preventive measures should be taken by each worker:
- Wear light, loose-fitting, breathable clothing and a broad-brimmed hat.
- Use sunscreen, reapplying as needed.
- Take frequent breaks in the shade.
- Make sure fresh water is available and drink to stay hydrated.
- Eat small meals before and during work.
- Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and large amounts of sugar.
Trip and falling hazards include uneven ground, holes, open graves, toppled grave markers, fallen tree limbs, and other debris (Fig. C). Sitting, climbing, or standing on a grave marker should be avoided since the additional weight may cause Figure C. Gophers and other burrowing animals produce uneven ground and holes that are trip and falling hazards to visitors and staff of historic cemeteries. Photo: Jason Church. deteriorated and structurally unstable monuments to break or collapse with serious injury potentially occurring to the worker and damage to the marker. To help prevent injuries that can result from unstable grave markers, it is important to routinely identify and flag severely damaged and unstable grave markers for corrective work and to rope off any marker considered to be in immediate danger of collapse. Prior to beginning work, the immediate area around the job site should be rechecked for safety hazards.
Snakes, wasps, and burrowing animals inhabit historic cemeteries (Fig. D). Snakes sun on warm stones and hide in holes and ledges, so it is important to be able to identify local venomous snakes. An appropriate venomous snake management plan should be in place, and all workers should be familiar with it. Workers and volunteers should be instructed as to safety measures to be taken in regards to snakes, including proper clothing where there is an identified risk.
The imported red fire ant is an invasive pest, prevalent in the southern United States. They attack en masse, resulting in painful bites that can be potentially life threatening to people with allergic reactions. It is important to be able to identify the presence of red imported fire ants; be informed as to safety measures to take when working in areas known to be infested with them; and take steps to control them as necessary. A rescue medicine is available for those with serious allergic reactions.
Paper wasps, yellow jackets, and hornets are another concern, building nests around and on ledges and lips of box tombs, mausoleums, and other grave markers. They are very territorial around their nests and will vigorously defend them. There are nontoxic sprays that can be used in and around the work area. Nests should be safely removed.
Burrowing animals like armadillos, groundhogs, gophers, and moles disrupt the ground with their digging and tunnels and can create tripping hazards or undermine grave markers. Prairie dogs have been known to dig up bones and destroy gravesites. Sinkholes created by these animals can also be perfect places for other creatures like snakes to inhabit.
Cemeteries are made up of a wide range of materials which respond differently to physical and chemical threats. These environmental conditions need to be assessed before any work begins and efforts made to isolate or deal with these conditions.
Threats to monuments may be manmade or natural.
Some human made threats include:
- Inappropriate maintenance and management practices
- Vandalism and theft
- Inappropriate treatments and repairs
- Air pollution
Some natural threats include:
- Effects of weathering
- Biodeterioration
- Water-related deterioration - Including rising groundwater
- General decay
- Inherent vice
- Corrosion
- Invasive flora or fauna
- Disasters
Planning and Responding to Disaster and Change
Cemeteries are an important historic resource in any community. Additionally, they serve as community parks, sculpture gardens, and tourist attractions. Many people visit cemeteries on a regular basis and value cemeteries as resources for a variety of reasons. Because of the value to our communities and the respect that we should pay to our ancestors, disaster recovery of cemeteries is important.
Cemeteries can receive damage following a natural disaster such as a tornado, hurricane, or flood. A fallen marker or a downed tree is stable and no longer a safety threat, no matter how unsightly. Hanging debris, unstable monuments, sunken graves, and possible loose remains, however, pose an ongoing safety threat to visitors and should be prioritized for repair.
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Gravesite Priorities & Stabilization
This video is part of a series of presentations and media for people interested in learning about preservation techniques to stabilize the nations' historic gravesites. In this presentation, the Center's Chief of Preservation Services, Jason Church, will discuss setting up priorities in gravesites, and actions required to stabilize monuments in emergencies.
- Duration:
- 20 minutes, 37 seconds
Natural Disasters
We have little, if any, control over natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and these unplanned events can cause significant damage to historic cemeteries. Strong winds can cause tree limbs to drop onto monuments, markers, fences, gates and other structures. Heavy rains can cause flooding and washouts, especially at hillside cemeteries, eroding graves, displacing markers, and altering roads and paths. For these reasons, preservation planning for historic cemeteries should include disaster preparedness and recovery. Older trees are particularly vulnerable. Without adequate maintenance, these plants become tall and top heavy, easily toppled by wind. Regular pruning and replacement can avoid catastrophic damage to historic plantings, the restoration of which may not be eligible for emergency funding.
Environmental Change
Cemeteries are subjected to environmental pressures that threaten the integrity of the historic landscapes. Acid rain or dew (pH 7) carries relatively high concentrations of acid-forming chemicals, usually released from coal burning, chemical manufacturing, and smelting. Although federal regulations on emissions have decreased pollutants in the atmosphere in the past decade, acid rain continues to plague stone and metal work in historic cemeteries. At low levels acid rain can bleach stones, and at higher concentrations it can eat away at engravings creating a effect, eventually destabilizing the stone. Marble, limestone and soft metals such as bronze are most at risk. Vegetation in cemeteries is also affected by acid rain and climate change. Highly acidic soils can restrict nutrient uptake, weakening trees and other plants. Exposure to acid precipitation can also cause defoliation, making plants vulnerable to disease and other threats. Older vegetation may struggle to adapt to changes in temperature and rainfall which have been observed over the past 50 years.
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Gravesite Site Safety
This video is part of a series of presentations and media for people interested in learning about preservation techniques to stabilize the nation's historic grave sites. In this presentation, the Center's Chief of Architecture and Engineering, Simeon Warren, will discuss gravesite safety.
- Duration:
- 26 minutes, 34 seconds
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Dangers in a Cemetery
National Center for Preservation, Technology, and Training explores possible dangers in Cemeteries.
- Duration:
- 12 minutes, 20 seconds