‘Cremation is safe for your health’

[Mirror]

Dr Martina Agberien is a Lagos-based medical practitioner, health educator and public health analyst. She spoke with THOMAS USHIE on the health and environmental implications of cremation. Excerpts:

What are the health implications of cremation?

Some people have public health concerns about chemicals released to the air and soil, and about noise and odours during crematory operations. However, there is no evidence that chemicals released to the environment near a crematory are at levels of health concern.

Does the process of cremation have negative impact on the environment?

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in some parts of the world has shown that crematory emissions (substances discharged into the air) are at levels well below regulatory and health guidelines. Emissions from crematory operations may include a very small amount of several chemicals. The source of many of the chemicals is the body burden from lifetime exposures that is stored in fat and tissue.

Chemicals emitted by crematories may include mercury, dioxin, hydrochloric acid, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and dioxins. These chemicals are emitted at extremely low levels and when released into the air, they break down quickly by sunlight, or are diluted and carried by the wind. Nevertheless, one chemical, mercury, is of concern because of long-range transport.

Mercury emissions from crematories are often from dental fillings; however, its use as dental amalgam is declining because inexpensive substitute materials are now available. The best option would be to remove amalgam fillings before cremation, but in practice this might be difficult to achieve for practical and cultural reasons. The levels of mercury emitted from a crematory are considered extremely low and do not pose a health risk. In addition, emission control devices that reduce mercury levels released to air are located on crematory stacks.

The major public health concern for the people living in the vicinity of crematoria is probably not mercury but other pollutants such as particulate matter and pollutants from incomplete combustion.

The production of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxides and nitrogen oxides is another factor to consider. The required energy, mostly from natural gas, electricity or propane, for the combustion of human remains is considerable.

Cremation generally takes two to three hours in a sealed chamber, during which the temperature ranges between 760 – 1149 0C. Crematory emissions are far below levels of environmental and health concern and, therefore, will not affect your health. Technology is available to reduce these emissions significantly. It is assumed that, if modern crematoria operate correctly, emissions are relatively small with a small impact on public health

Can other chemicals from crematories affect health?

Since cremation is a combustion process of organic matter dioxin and furans may be formed during the process due to incomplete combustion or new formation in the stack induced by high temperatures. Dioxins are emitted into outdoor air from cremation in very small amounts. The term "dioxin" refers to a group of chemicals, however the most toxic is 2,3,7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzop- dioxin, or TCDD.

Because TCDD is the most toxic, health risk associated with dioxin is discussed in terms of TCDD. It has been proven that TCDD emitted from crematories is far less than is released from motor vehicles.

What is your advice to practitioners of cremation as well as regulatory agencies?

Crematoria have the potential to have a negative impact on public health if not well planned. Internationally there is clearly a concern around the polluting capacity of crematoria. Crematoria emissions should be strictly regulated but not 'assumed' to have only a small impact on public health.

Crematoria should use the best available technology economically achievable to reduce air pollutant emissions and should operate at an optimal level with strict temperature control to obtain complete combustion.

Minimum operating temperatures, minimum oxygen levels, maximum carbon monoxide levels, maximum opacity measures should be established based on work in other jurisdictions. A crematorium should not be cited close to a neighbourhood. Stack emissions and ambient air quality should be monitored before and after a crematorium starts functioning.

National Mirror