Our History

Product Inspiration & Development

After several discussions with the San Diego County medical examiner in 1993, Edward L. McWilliams conceived of a solution that would meet the need for an airtight, long–lasting method for containing dead bodies and the associated odors and potentially infectious fluids and gases that was not being met by traditional body bags.

After consulting with packaging experts, McWilliams created the BioSeal System, a patented poly–aluminum foil–poly co–extruded laminate material that, when heat–sealed, creates a seamless, non–porous, lightweight, flexible metal container.

Product Acceptance: Serving a Real Need

The San Diego County medical examiner began using the BioSeal Systems solution for day–to–day needs in the morgue in early 1997. On March 26 of that year, the medical examiner responded to the mass suicide of the “Heavens Gate” Cult.

The first responders were faced with 39 decomposing bodies that had ingested an unknown substance that had the potential to be life threatening to the investigators, medical personnel, examiners, police and media. The BioSeal Systems technology was used to contain the remains, effectively protecting the first responders while preserving the integrity of the evidence for the investigation.

There was—and continues to be—no other absolute containment solution available. And the death care industry took notice.

Since that time, the BioSeal System solution has been successfully deployed for the recovery, containment, storage and transport of remains at major natural and manmade mass fatality disasters, both in the U.S. and abroad, including the crash of Swiss Air Flight 111 in 1998, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Asian Tsunami of 2004.

Our clients include government and private sector organizations throughout the United States and the European Union as well as many other countries including Australia, Japan and South Africa. Our technology is used by the U.S. Army Mortuary Affairs, the FBI and the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Medical examiners, coroners, funeral directors and hospitals nationwide depend on our solutions for day–to–day operations and also use them as key components of their disaster and pandemic preparedness planning. In addition, the BioSeal Systems solution has been approved by most major air carriers for primary containment of human remains for air transport.

Product Evolution and Expansion

As a result of customer feedback as well as testing performed by government and private sector agencies, BioSeal Systems has been able to improve our technology, methodology and material and also to expand our product offerings over the years. We have increased the tensile strength of our material and introduced an obvious visual indicator when a proper seal is achieved. We have redesigned our dispensers. We have configured multiple power supplies. We’ve developed a portable solution, a mass fatality response solution and even a turnkey training system.

Each enhancement and new configuration resulted in improved performance, protection and preparation for our clients. Today, we continue this dedication to creating innovative and dependable solutions to meet the unique requirements of any containment scenario.

 

 

 

 

 

Historical Timeline:

1993
Concept inception

1994
Concept development

1995
Product development

1996
Applied for patent

1997
Patent granted
Product launched

3-26-1997
“Heavens Gate” mass suicide
39 dead sealed

1998
U.S. Marine Corps testing prompts improvement of aluminum layer

9-2-1998
SwissAir Crash
partial remains of 229 dead sealed

1999

9-16-1999
Hurricane Floyd
250 unearthed caskets sealed

2000
U.S. Air Force evaluation prompts improvement of tensile strength

1-31-2000
Alaska Air crash
partial remains of 87 dead recovered

2001

9-11-2001
Terrorist attacks on U.S.
Over 21,000 partial remains recovered from the World Trade Center sealed

2002
Accepted by major air carriers

2004
U.S. Army evaluation prompts material modification to create obvious visual seal

12-26-2004
Asian Tsunami
Over 9,000 partial remains sealed

2005
U.S. Army testing at Edgewod Chemical Biological Testing Facility confirms Biosafety Level 4 containment claim

8-29-2005
Hurricane Katrina
Over 3,000 partial remains sealed

2006
BioSeal Systems President serves on the Department of Defense’s Homeland Defense Joint Task Force Civil Support Mass Fatality Working Group

2008
Relocation to larger production facility

Updated brand identity

2009
Launched new Web site

Introduced 4th generation of BioSeal Systems material

2010
Launched two new products: Human Remains Sealing Station and Team Training System

Upgraded two products:
Facility System and
Portable System

NFDA Most Innovative Product Award Finalist

1-12-2010
Haiti Earthquake
BioSeal Systems deployed with DMORT