Are coffins being stored in Atlanta for a "high casualty event"? [Debunkery]

Ignore the conspiracy theory nonsense. Today I learned that many US states recommend (or require) sealing coffins in plastic crates. Presumably this is to account for the unlikely possibility that the deceased didn't pollute the environment enough before they died.

Are coffins being stored in Atlanta for a "high casualty event"? [Debunkery]:

For years, the internet has swirled with rumors about a large number of black plastic containers stored along a stretch of interstate near Atlanta. Conspiracy theorists dubbed the black containers coffins, and hypothesized that they were being stored for a planned or foreseen event that would cause the deaths of millions of North Americans.

This conspiracy rumormill really kicked into high gear when people began considering the proximity of the coffins to the busiest airport in the world, as well as the Centers for Disease Control (cue The Walking Dead theme). So what are these containers really for? Let's take a look.

Top image: Google satellite view of one of the suggested storage locations, possibly showing stacks of black containers.

Are the containers coffins?

Eerie black containers placed along Interstate 20 running through Madison, Georgia were noticed by citizens living in the area in 2008. Speculation stirred due to their close proximity to Atlanta, Georgia (the location of the Center for Disease Control and a large international airport) that these containers were coffins in a holding pattern, waiting to be dispersed throughout the country due to a foreseen high causality event in the United States. Early estimates made from photos of the site declared there to be half a million two-piece "coffins" stacked along the interstate.

Upon further inspection, something coffin-like certainly exists at the site. Reports show the land to be leased by Vantage Products in Covington, Georgia, roughly 25 miles away from the Madison site. Images of these containers fit a product that Vantage markets as a burial vault - an air-tight polypropylene container of considerable size. These burial vaults are produced in two pieces (so they can be stacked) and they fit around a coffin to prevent damage from water and microbes. Given that these containers are burial vaults, it's no surprise that they would be stored outside - they could be easily be washed when needed, and their final destination is six feet underground anyway. Keeping them outside is cost effective.

Yes, government did buy burial vaults

A search of U.S. Federal Government spending shows that a company by the name of PolyGuard Vaults does have a decade-long contract with the Federal Government to provide burial supplies. Starting in the fiscal year of 2000 and ending in 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs spent over $1.7 million on plastic burial vaults through contracts with PolyGuard's parent company, Rocky Mountain Products.

However, U.S. Federal Government through the Department of Veterans Affairs also bought $5.5 million worth of memorials during this time period. Looking into these contracts, especially in light of the purchase of additional memorial supplies, goes a long way to show that these burial vaults were intended for use by Department of Veterans Affairs in funeral services for active or retired soldiers.

While burial vaults are not required by all states (for example, New York doesn't require them), they are recommended in many states to prevent water from seeping into the coffin, rotting it, and then causing the earth above it to cave in. So it would seem that the money spent on these burial vaults only went to provide soldiers with a proper burial.

So what about those FEMA and CDC connections?

Conspiracies typically revolve around the Georgia site (there are some conspiracy theories vaults in Indiana and Missouri too, however). Vantage, owner of the burial vaults at the Georgia site, does not have any government contracts. Confusion appears to arise from a lack of separation between PolyGuard and Vantage, with most believing them to be the same company. We contacted both PolyGuard and Vantage, and they confirmed that they are indeed separate, competing companies. This is a fact often overlooked in conspiracies involving the FEMA coffins, as Polyguard has the government contract (and is based in Wyoming); however, Vantage owns the burial vaunts near Atlanta, GA and the CDC.

In other words, the government does not own the burial vaults near the Atlanta airport. There is no connection between government agencies like FEMA and the vaults.

If these containers were for a mass causality event, why would the government bury the dead?

The containers are rather large – this lends credence to the burial vault point of view. Conspiracy theorists say they're for efficiently doing away with multiple bodies. However, why would a government stack containers next to the freeway so that they could "bury" bodies secretly? Especially in the case of infectious disease, it would be much easier to burn the bodies or perform mass burials. If half a million people died quickly and the bodies (infectious or non-infectious) needed to be destroyed, I highly doubt the government would be conducting proper burials.

Images from NWO Thesis, Google Images, Above Top Secret (musselwhite), and PolyGuard Vaults. Sources linked within the article.