Cremation at Parker Mortuary
What are the
facts?
Why do we want a crematory
• Cremation has grown from .5% of our
volume in 1983 to a current volume of
41%
• We are paying out more to a 3rd Party
crematory than it costs to finance our own
• We need to provide our clientele what they
desire
Problems with 3rd Party Operators
• Abuses by some out-of-state crematories have
been in the media
– California – more than one body cremated in the
same chamber at the same time
– California & Texas -- Families receiving cremated
remains proven not to be those of their loved one
– Georgia – Disreputable operator failed to cremate
more than 130 bodies
• Returned to the funeral homes a box of chat, rather than
cremains
• Bodies were found in and around an adjoining lake on his
property
N.F.D.A. issued a warning
• As a result of abuses, The National
Funeral Directors Association has publicly
warned funeral homes
– To exercise “due diligence” in dealing with 3rd
Party crematories
• Due to unprofessional conduct and liability
• Include unannounced inspections with
documentation
Parker Mortuary’s Preference
• To personally supervise every step of the
cremation process
• To assure our families that everything is
done in a trustworthy, respectful and
proper manner
Why must our crematory
be on-site?
• We already have a 45’ x 100’ substantially
constructed warehouse
• Our casket supplier opened a Mt. Vernon
warehouse
– We no longer inventory caskets in the
warehouse
Why on-site?
• Our warehouse shelters (4) funeral
vehicles, yard equipment and office
supplies
• 2/3 of our existing warehouse is already
vacant allowing more than sufficient space
for
– The crematory unit and supplies
– A new 12’x12’x7’ refrigeration facility
How does an on-site crematory benefit
our families and the community?
• Each cremation can be monitored by our own
staff through every step of the process
• We have staff on-site 24/7 for security against
foul play
• Our 12’x12’ refrigeration facility will protect public
health
– Allows families time to make decisions about
• Viewing
• Cremation
• Immediate burial
Some families prefer
being present at a cremation
• Either for religious reasons
• For peace of mind knowing their loved one
is cared for properly
• A feeling that they want to go every step of
the way with their loved one (similar to a
family choosing to stay for a grave closing)
• Admittedly a rare occurrence
– Requested by perhaps 12 of our past families
– However those families do deserve our best
Families Present
(continued)
• We can accommodate such requests more
easily and suitably on-site.
• Sending them to an industrial park surrounded
by manufacturing plants and commercial
warehouses on a gravel road is not our best
• Locating a crematory in a rural county area
– Gives the impression cremation is wrong or unhealthy
– This isn’t the case. Cremation is a very clean and
sanitary process.
Meierhoffer Funeral Home & Crematory
5005 Frederick Blvd
Saint Joseph, MO 64506
•
•
The crematory has an attractively decorated and comfortably integrated family
viewing area, where family members may witness as well as participate in the
cremation process.
Family members may participate by actuating the cremation process from
controls located in the viewing room. This option is particularly important for
persons of certain faiths. Meierhoffer Funeral Home and Crematory has and
always will strive to accommodate the needs of all faiths as their customs
dictate.
Why on-site?
-Utilities• It took 3 ½ weeks for us to determine MO
Gas Energy could provide sufficient flow
and pressure even at 15th & Joplin
– The more rural a location, the more unlikely
sufficient supply could be provided
Why on-site (continued)
• We would have the added expense of
purchasing land
• Erect or purchase a substantial building
– To protect the loved ones, in whom we have been
entrusted, against foul play
– To protect our substantial investment in equipment
against criminal break-in and storms
Why on-site (continued)
• We would have to transport each
individual to the location
– Significant inconvenience and expense
– Increases possibility of contagious exposure
• We would have to commit significant manhours to oversee the process and could
never do our job of security and protection
justice
Where are crematories
normally located?
• In the 4 states of Missouri, Oklahoma,
Arkansas and Kansas
– There are 82 operating crematories
– 82% (67) are inside incorporated city limits
– 16% (13) are in unincorporated township
limits
– And 2 operate inside the Mark Twain National
Forest
Where are crematories?
• 84% (69) are located within 500 ft. of a
residence, some within 50 ft.
• Many funeral homes and cemeteries locate their
crematories inside their main public building
– Of 35 Missouri crematories alone, 63% (22) had them
in their main building
– Several others just across the street
– 3 had 2 operating cremation units and 2 others had 3
units operating
Ozark Memorial
Chappel Crematory
On-Site (continued)
• If any part of the process caused odor or a
public health hazard
– Why would they place them in their main
building where people
• Conduct funeral arrangements
• Attend viewings or visitations
• Attend services
• Further, why in the world would Parker
Mortuary do that?
We would not.
Community Benefit?
• Control contagious disease (with which we
frequently deal)
– Each time someone with contagion is moved
• Risk is increased
– This is why our new refrigeration unit will be in
the same on-site building
Community Benefit
• M.F.D.A. Disaster Preparedness
– 2 of our staff have participated in training
– Equipment and personnel are inventoried by
the team statewide
– Teams have attended the Hyatt collapse in
K.C., Hardin Cemetery Flood and Katrina
• A temporary morgue site
– Is one of the 1st steps in a multiple-death
disaster
Disaster Preparedness
• Our warehouse would be a perfect
temporary morgue site
– Including crematory
– Refrigeration
• Family and media interviews could be
accommodated in our main facility
Supply and Demand
• Any time free trade is restricted, prices
increase
• It will be left to 2 existing crematories to
keep up with increasing demand
– Joplin families would be the ultimate looser
• Forced to pay possibly higher prices
• Without benefit of competition holding prices in
check
Who regulates crematories?
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Missouri Department of Natural
Resources
• Missouri State Board of Funeral
Directors and Embalmers
Board of Embalmers & Funeral Directors
3605 Missouri Boulevard
P.O. Box 423
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0423
U.S. - E.P.A.
• Mandated in the Clean Air Act the E.P.A.
conducted extensive testing
– At a Bronx, NY crematory in 1999
– To determine if crematories merited further
regulation and inclusion under their category
of “other solid waste incinerators”
E.P.A.
• Tested for
– Visible emissions
– Particulate matter
– Carbon Monoxide
– Nitrogen Oxides
– Sulfur Dioxide
– Dioxins and Furans
• At 3 operating temperatures
E.P.A. Test
Results
Visible Emissions
• Averaged 1.91% for the highest 6-Min.
Opacity
• EPA Rule for Limiting Visible Emissions
(40 Code of Regulations Part 49 Section
124) is 20%
• In independent tests, our Therm-Tec unit
operated at:
0
Particulate Matter
• Averaged .08 Lb. per Hour
– Which equates to 1.6 Lbs. per ton
• (Parker Mortuary would have to operate our
crematory for 1 year and 8 months to produce 1
ton)
– The E.P.A. Limit for Other Solid Waste
Incinerators is 4.7 Lbs. per ton
Particulate Matter
• A typical high-volume crematory emits less than
½ as many particulates as
– A Fast Food Restaurant
– A residential fireplace produces 6 times more
particulates than that of a high-volume crematory
• High-volume is 260 - 8-Hr. Days per year or
1300 cases per year
• Parker Mortuary will produce 204 cases per year
operating at 15.7% the amount of high-volume
Carbon Monoxide
• Averaged 1.6 Parts per million @ 7%
oxygen
• The typical state limit is 100 Parts per
million
Fireplace
– A residential fireplace emits 58 times more
carbon monoxide
Diesel Trucks
– A diesel truck emits 366 times more carbon
monoxide
– (by the way…this is an E.P.A. photo)
Nitrogen Oxide
• Averaged .39 Lb per Hour
• A restaurant grill averages .48 Lb per
hour
Sulfur Dioxide
• Averaged .07 Lb. per hour
– Which equates to 1.4 Lb. per Ton
• The EPA regulation on OSWI is 2.5 Lb.
per Ton
Dioxins and Furans
• Averaged 110.5 Nanograms per Minute
• Low compared to OSWI
• The measurement unit (nanogram) is
one-billionth of a gram
• The E.P.A. says exposure also comes
from
– Burning household trash, a fireplace
– And even Forest Fires
Results were based on constant
operation
• The average crematory operates 3 hours
per day
• At current volume, Parker Mortuary’s
crematory will operate at an average of 1
hour per day
E.P.A.’s response
• Immediately after the test, crematories
were dropped from “low priority” to
“very low priority”
• Testing proved that crematories operate so
far below allowable limits for
commercial/industrial incinerators, they
require no further regulations
E.P.A. Final Rule
• On December 16, 2005, E.P.A. entered its final
rule into the Federal Register, 40 CFR Vol. 70
No. 241 Page 74881 Rules and Regulations:
“Human crematories are not solid waste
combustion units and are not a subcategory of
OSWI for regulation”
• The tests proved that even if included as OSWI,
crematories already far exceed the requirements
imposed on higher-volume
commercial/industrial/municipal units
A Typical “Other Solid Waste
Incinerator” regulated by E.P.A.
What about Mercury?
• E.P.A. determined that all U.S. crematories
combined (based on 1999 cremation
rates) produce 238 Lbs. of mercury
emissions
• Updating to current cremation rates yields
an average of 0.15 Lbs. per crematory
per year
• What does this mean….?
What about Mercury?
(continued)
• If you could capture 100% of the mercury
from a crematory producing 400 cases per
year for one full year (which, of course,
you can’t)
– The total captured would be smaller than a
household sugar cube
– Parker Mortuary’s rate would be ½ as much
In contrast…
• The #1 concern to the E.P.A. is mercury
from power plants (as mercury is found in
coal)
United Kingdom Study
• The cremation rate there is over 70%
• Tests were conducted at a crematory in
operation for 40 years, conducting over
112,000 cremations
• Soil Samples in close proximity showed
– 7 times lower than that allowed for food
production
– 100 times lower than that allowed for
children’s playgrounds
United Kingdom Study
(continued)
• Hair samples of crematory employees
were analyzed for mercury and averaged
– The results were over 3 times less than the
tolerable level
• An average North American crematory
operates at 20% of these production
levels.
Mercury: where does it come from?
• In cremation, it is Silver Amalgam tooth
fillings
– At one time, they represented 90% of fillings
used
– Within the past 10 years, it has declined by
38% and is expected to diminish further as
dentists now employ composites - which
more closely match tooth color
Silver Amalgam fillings
vs. Composite fillings
•White fillings look much better than
the old 'silver' fillings and restore
the natural appearance of the tooth.
•White fillings require less removal
of tooth structure, so less drilling is
required.
•White fillings bond to the tooth and
restore most of the original strength
of the tooth, reducing the likelihood
of future breakage.
•Teeth restored with white fillings
are usually less sensitive to hot and
cold than teeth restored with
amalgam.
•White fillings are mercury-free.
Mercury is a major ingredient in
older amalgam fillings.
Will Parker Mortuary remove
fillings?
• No.
• It would be unethical
• It would be devastating to the family we’re
serving
• It would be considered mutilation, which is
deservedly a criminal offense
• It is not necessary and is not proposed by
any governing agency
Harmful Implants and
Radionucleotides
• Pacemakers (after specific authorization from
the next of kin) must be removed
– Some older model batteries pose a threat of
explosion
• Radiation producing implants (used in Cancer
treatment) must also be removed with family
permission and passed on to our bio-hazardous
waste (OSHA mandated) disposer. Our current
disposer is Steri-Cycle
Radionucleotides
• Most cremation authorizations ask the
next of kin to “certify the deceased has not
been treated with any radionucleotides”
• Parker Mortuary’s authorization also will.
What about the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources
• We will apply for a “permit-by-rule” with
MO DNR as soon as local zoning is
approved
• MO DNR regulates crematories in the
current 10 CSR (Code of State
Regulations) 10-6 page 41 as follows:
MO DNR continued
• “Any crematory…used solely for the cremation
of human remains…and operates in compliance
with the following conditions is permitted under
this rule:
• A)…materials…limited to
noninfectious…operator shall minimize the
amount of packaging…not used to dispose of
other non-biological medical wastes…sharps,
rubber globes, i.v. bags, tubing etc.
MO DNR (continued)
• B) Manufacturer’s rated capacity (burn rate)
shall be 200 Lbs./hour or less
– (Most crematories operate at ½ that)
• C) The incinerator shall be a dual-chamber
design
– (All crematories are)
• D) Burners shall be located in each
chamber…necessary to maintain minimum
temperature
– (All crematories do)
Why don’t we have a DNR permit
yet? Well first things first.
• If local zoning fails to allow a crematory
installation
• The MO DNR will not issue a permit
• I called Richard Barnes in the S.W. Regional
DNR office (Springfield) and Chia-Wei Young in
the Air Program of the DNR in Jefferson City
– Neither knew of any current crematory manufacturer
whose specifications were below state regulation
– The Jefferson City office confirmed that the MO DNR
has never refused a permit for a crematory.
What about the Missouri State
Board of Funeral Directors and
Embalmers?
• We will apply for an amended Funeral
Establishment License adding crematory
operation
• Upon delivery and curing of the unit, a
State Board Examiner will personally
inspect the unit and the building
State Board (continued)
• A recording circular graph will record each time
the unit is started, stopped, and the
temperatures from start to finish. A cremation log
must also be kept. These must be available to
the examiner at all times.
• The crematory will be subject bi-annually to
unannounced on-premise examination by the
State Board
– All Missouri funeral homes and crematories have
these inspections to verify suitable and safe operation
The Cremation Process Is
•
•
•
•
Safe
Clean
Sanitary
Well Regulated and Agency Supervised
• Don’t be fooled by alarmist scaretactics
• Look at the facts and please allow us to
better serve our community
Thank you from all of us at
Nowhere a finer service . . . Nowhere a fairer price