There is a proposal for a funeral home in our neighborhood to add a crematorium facility. Does anyone have experience living close to a crematorium? Are there noticeable odors? environmental impacts? health issues?

Edit: I think it depends on where you get your information from.

 

About crematoriums

 

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality provided answers to some common questions regarding crematoriums.

 

• Does a crematorium produce an odor?

 

Emissions that would cause odors are destroyed in the furnace's secondary combustion chamber, which is standard equipment. The latest furnaces come with controls that prevent the cremation process from beginning before the secondary chamber is ready.

 

• Can exhaust from a crematorium carry and transmit disease?

 

The secondary combustion chamber will destroy pathogens, if any are present, in the same manner as odorous materials.

 

• What dangers are there from the burning of mercury in fillings?

 

The amount of mercury in a tooth filling is minimal and not expected to result in health problems in the community.

 

• Is there any evidence that crematoriums pose a health risk to the surrounding community?

 

The main pollutant from a crematory is particulate matter. The ashes of the deceased are returned to the family so crematoriums are designed to keep as much as possible from being emitted. Also, due to the sensitivity related to the handling of human remains, the cremation business by its nature needs to keep its facilities clean and well-maintained.

 

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It sounds like it just depends on how well they adhere to regulations.

There is a proposal for a funeral home in our neighborhood to add a crematorium facility. Does anyone have experience living close to a crematorium? Are there noticeable odors? environmental impacts? health issues?

 

I am involved with a cemetery, mausoleum, and crematory.  There are no impacts environmentally and you can stand in the cremetory area and can't smell anything.  In fact, there is a viewing area where you can watch cremations through a window if you so desire.  There are pretty strict regulations that this is the case so there should be no impact.

In fact, there is a viewing area where you can watch cremations through a window if you so desire.

 

Count me out.

In fact, there is a viewing area where you can watch cremations through a window if you so desire.

 

Count me out.

 

You would be surprised the number of people who want to watch.  It was actually installed b/c so many people asked about it.  Everyone needs closure.

 

You can't actually see anything, other than the box being loaded into the oven door.

I know a lot of people watch, as there have been "situations" where a family was told a body was cremated, only to find that it's been donated or disposed of otherwise.

 

I want to be cremated.  I don't want to be buried.  I don't want my family coming to a cemetery to morn me.  Just turn me into a true flaming queen and get on with your lives!

If there were no Lakeview Cemetery, I'd want to be cremated.

Since this thread has taken this turn, why not - I've copied and pasted my wishes from a similar thread at skyscraperpage.com:

.......

I absolutely flat-out refuse to have a "calling hours" where my embalmed and decaying body is put under pink lights in some tack-o-rama room full of chintz wallpaper. And there will be no rows of folding chairs filled with hushed weeping while someone says a prayer to a god I don't believe in; nor will there be the absolutely ridiculous waste that is a casket or the procession to chuck me into the ground miles away at a cemetery. I know some people do that for tradition or obligation, not me. When I'm dead, I'm to be cremated immediately. There'll be a reception at Hooples (a great bar in Cleveland with an amazing view of the skyline) for loved ones and friends with only the most flattering of photos of me placed around the room, and most importantly - an open bar. Some of my favorite music will be playing, and everyone will be welcome to toast, roast, share stories, tell jokes, and most importantly have a fricking sense of humor. I know it's death and all, but I'd be thoroughly disappointed if no one at least ONCE joked "ding dong, the b!tch is dead!".

 

As for my body, I'll be cremated and my ashes are to be dropped into the Cuyahoga River at the Columbus Road bridge (my favorite vantage point of the skyline, and just across the street from Hooples). No tombstone, no cemetery, just this place - anyone wants to pay respects later on, you can take in the view from there, or over a drink at Hooples.

 

 

And yes, I'm completely serious. :-)

...................

 

And in response to someone's post about why some prefer cremation, etc.:

 

Part of my personal disdain (I understand and respect that others find solace and closure in a traditional funeral) is that so SO much money is spent on materials that get buried and do nothing other than to keep bones and dust relatively intact. Having gone to my partner's mother's funeral recently - I couldn't believe how expensive a coffin is, much less the money spent for the silliest of details but "it's what they would have wanted". SO much money and materials used up - and for what?!?

 

I also find the idea of a body being pancaked with makecup, eyes and mouths sewn shut, and laid out for display under pink lights to be incredibly morbid. It doesn't help that 99% of funeral homes are the most horrifically decorated places I've ever seen. That, and I detest when people say "oh, they look good" or "they look peaceful" - uh, no - they look DEAD. That's the absolute last thing I'd want - for people to see me swaddled in satin surrounded by flowers (please donate to one of my favorite charities instead), in a room where if I was alive - I'd be scoffing up one side and down the other about the decor. I know, it helps others understand that you're actually gone but sorry - if you want proof that I'm gone, try and call and see if I pick up the phone.

Good Lord MayDay we're so much alike!  I guess it's true, fabulous people do think alike!

 

As I've said before, I want my ashes spread over Harvey Nic's.  Option B is to thru my ashes from the top of my apartment unless the kids decide they want to keep them in the apartment since it wont ever have to be sold.

^^ I agree.  1) I don't want to take up valuable space that's rendered unproductive; and, 2) I want to be associated with someplace majestic and inspiring, rather than a somber, depressing cemetery. 

I worked near a crematorium once and I never noticed the slightest smell. Having said that, I would never really care what happens to my body. I'd prefer to have all my good organs donated and the rest donated to research or something. If not, do whatever, I'll be dead, I won't notice.

Just keep in mind spreading cremated remains is illegal in public places without a permit ($$$)...no one ever gets a permit, but it's better to not make a big production out of it...like maybe just dump the bag in the river rather than have everyone grab a handful and toss you in.

 

As for the question at hand...

 

I worked near a crematorium once and I never noticed the slightest smell.

 

This is right - you won't notice anything.  People come in and out of the office all day and have no idea people are being cremated just on the other side of the wall, let alone if they are living/working across the street or in the nieghborhood.

Just keep in mind spreading cremated remains is illegal in public places without a permit ($$$)...no one ever gets a permit, but it's better to not make a big production out of it...like maybe just dump the bag in the river rather than have everyone grab a handful and toss you in.

 

As for the question at hand...

 

I worked near a crematorium once and I never noticed the slightest smell.

 

This is right - you won't notice anything.  People come in and out of the office all day and have no idea people are being cremated just on the other side of the wall, let alone if they are living/working across the street or in the nieghborhood.

 

Well my people would get a permit.  We like to do it up in a fashionable way.  If we're going out....we're going out in Style!

There is a proposal for a funeral home in our neighborhood to add a crematorium facility. Does anyone have experience living close to a crematorium? Are there noticeable odors? environmental impacts? health issues?

 

No need to worry, they do not smell, and they have no environmental output.  Although if your residents are really opposed to this facility moving in, they'll have to look at other valid complaints such added traffic or compliance with zoning.  You can't really complain about the environmental aspects since the average home or apartment puts out way more pollution. 

 

As for other some of the other responses, I think I'd want my body stored in mausoleum.  Some of them are incredible architectural landmarks, but I think it would come down to whatever my family thinks is best.

Since this thread has taken this turn, why not - I've copied and pasted my wishes from a similar thread at skyscraperpage.com:

.......

 

MayDay I have a better idea. I think this suits you better!

 

But a company called LifeGem has come up with a unique twist on diamond creation. They create gemstones from carbon that's captured during the cremation of human remains.

 

It's not a process that will appeal to everyone, but the company is finding that an increasing number of people opt in to the program in order to leave family members a lasting memento, one that's beautiful and one they can wear all the time.

 

Getting the Carbon

Carbon released during cremation is captured as a dark powder, then heated to produce graphite. The graphite is sent to a lab where it is synthesized into fancy colored diamonds.

 

LifeGem recommends you use their cremation process for best results, but the company says it can often retrieve enough carbon to make diamonds from previously cremated remains.

 

Dozens of stones can be made from one individual. The size selection is currently 0.25 to 1.3 carats, but the company plans to offer larger diamonds in the future. Prices have decreased since the company was formed, so check LifeGem's Web site for current details.

 

The LifeGem process gathers only the carbon produced during cremation. The family will still receive ashes of each individual.

 

Skeptical?

LifeGem says it has an open door policy, allowing you to inspect many aspects of their tracking system. The system follows all remains throughout the entire process, from cremation to faceting. They also offer a more advanced type of system that uses special markers to track remains.

 

Diamonds From Pets?

Yes, the company will produce diamonds from your pet's remains.

 

Diamond Quality

LifeGem says that its overall quality target is to produce gems at the VVS clarity level (very, very slightly included; very, very slightly imperfect).

 

It's definitely not for everyone, but LifeGem has indeed come up with a unique memorial option.

 

http://www.lifegem.com/

Just keep in mind spreading cremated remains is illegal in public places without a permit ($$$)...no one ever gets a permit, but it's better to not make a big production out of it...like maybe just dump the bag in the river rather than have everyone grab a handful and toss you in.

For some reason my wife threw a fit that it would be illigal when my mother planned to put my Father's ashes in a state park in southern Ohio. I called the park's main office to ask what's required permit wise and they told me that the only requirement was that we stay 100ft from any trails, or open water.

"MayDay I have a better idea. I think this suits you better!"

 

Sorry, I think that's just as morbid as the whole laying out of the body, etc.  :-P

mausoleums, family burial plots, etc are out dated.

 

Can you imagine the type of funeral I would have?  :wtf:  It would be bigger than the funeral in The Imitation of Life.

 

I don't want people to morn me AFTER I'm gone.  Pay me homage while I'm alive and kickin'!

I don't want people to morn me AFTER I'm gone.

 

I don't think you'll have to worry about that!

 

 

JUST KIDDING! Couldn't resist. You set yourself up for it!

I don't want people to morn me AFTER I'm gone.

 

I don't think you'll have to worry about that!

 

 

JUST KIDDING! Couldn't resist. You set yourself up for it!

I live a few hundred yards (by way the crow flies) from a crematorium and did not know it was there until I met the owner.

 

Agree with the boys-no embalming. Creamate or pine or recycled box to be thrown in the ocean with no chemicals-what ever is cheaper.  I told my husband not to spend more than a  cremation and toss me where he sees fit-ideally a lot of different places .

 

I have lost both parents. I took a few of my dads ashes and let them go in Trunk Bay in St. John USVI. He and my mom honey- mooned there so I figured he would like it.  I have been back to visit once and am going again in January. I like paying respects even more than in Ogden Utah, where the rest of him is. I only kick myself I did not do the same thing with my mom.

I like the Life Gem idea.  I could see it becoming a generational thing, where when you die, you join a "family necklace" handed down through the generations.  Probably I'll just be cremated.  As for the reception thing, I don't care, that is for the living.

 

My other thought on this is that instead of being buried and having a tombstone in a cemetery, or just being cremated and leaving no physical memorial, I would like for the money that would be put into a cemetery monument to be spent on something like a nice granite park bench, or a small piece of public art, with a small plaque "In memory of X".

I like the Life Gem idea.  I could see it becoming a generational thing, where when you die, you join a "family necklace" handed down through the generations.  Probably I'll just be cremated.  As for the reception thing, I don't care, that is for the living.

 

My other thought on this is that instead of being buried and having a tombstone in a cemetery, or just being cremated and leaving no physical memorial, I would like for the money that would be put into a cemetery monument to be spent on something like a nice granite park bench, or a small piece of public art, with a small plaque "In memory of X".

 

I can see it now.  "X Boulevard".  lol

mausoleums, family burial plots, etc are out dated.

 

 

 

How are such facilities dated.  They are timeless monuments unless you want to be stored in a modernist piece of trash.

 

I don't know about being memorialized by a park bench.  It's like being sat on or something. 

 

mausoleums, family burial plots, etc are out dated.

 

 

 

How are such facilities dated.  They are timeless monuments unless you want to be stored in a modernist piece of trash.

 

I don't know about being memorialized by a park bench.  It's like being sat on or something. 

 

 

They are an outdated mode of thinking for those in our generation.  My house is my "palace", I don't want to be "kept in state" in an oversized dollhouse after I pass on.

 

Why waste the space??  Cemetery's are overcrowded as it is.Save the planet...burn yourself!  If you're super rich and have space on your "estate" for a private burial, family mausoleum/plot, then thats different.

even burning yourself put emissions in the air. I say throw me in ocean for the fishies. But then the boat that would need to be fueled to take me out there would use a lot of gas. So burn it is I guess.