Urban crematoria pollution related to the management of the deceased

As a matter of fact, every step of the management of a corpse brings about all sorts of emissions (liquid, gaseous, wastes) and entails the use of materials and devices that are not always compatible with the current environmental needs. For instance, some materials for the construction of coffins that are suitable for their intrinsic aim may not be so for environmental purposes (biodegradation, recycling, recovery, etc), i.e., they are not easy to treat or they release certain substances upon cremation. Adverse circumstances may lead to the flowing back of gases or liquids generated by the onset of the decomposition process, thus whatever the type of final disposal of the deceased, coffins need to be strong enough to face the various kinds of impacts they meet upon handling, temporary storage, etc. On the basis of mechanical tests on prototypes of coffins made of different materials, the design and construction of a coffin need to be made on the basis of the impact may derive from the onset decomposition process after a minimum period of 24 h after the confirmed death. The results obtained on emissions from crematoria, representing an example of the machines currently in use in Italy, show a wide variation in the content of the pollutants investigated: metals, total particulate matter, organic micropollutants such as dioxin (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs).