Going Out Green New Mortuary Practices Reduce Mercury Pollution
Resomation, Ltd., in Glasgow, Scotland, has invented a new alkaline hydrolysis unit as a green alternative to cremation. Founder San- dy Sullivan plans to install the first one in America at the Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mercury from dental fillings vaporized in crematoria has been blamed
for up to 16 percent of British airborne mercury emissions, and many facilities there are fitting costly mercury filtration systems to meet reduced emission targets. The device dissolves the body in heated, pressurized, alkaline water. Makers
claim the process produces one-third less greenhouse gas than cremation, uses one-seventh of the energy and allows for complete separation of mercury-laden dental amalgam for safe disposal. Sullivan, a biochemist, says tests have proven the effluent is sterile, contains
Rocky Topping Appalachian Residents Oppose Coal Mining Policies
Even though coal mining forms the economic backbone of several Ap- palachian states, a recent poll reveals overwhelming local resistance to the technique of removing the entire tops of mountains to secure the coal, and then dumping the toxic remains in valleys and streams. Residents are mad enough to make it an election issue. A survey of 1,315 registered voters,
sponsored by Earthjustice, Appalachian Mountain Advocates and the Sierra Club, was conducted by independent research companies in Kentucky, Vir- ginia, Tennessee and West Virginia. It found that only 20 percent of residents support the practice of mountaintop re- moval. More, voters from all parties in these states promise to penalize elected officials that move to weaken clean water and environmental regulations related to such mining. The poll reveals intense and
broad-based support in the heart of Appalachia for fully enforcing and even increasing clean water protec- tions to combat the negative impacts of mountaintop removal mining. Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice, says, “The time for this destructive practice is over. The people in Appalachia are making it clear that they recognize the threats to their health and communities.”
Source:
Earthjustice.org, find state action contacts at
Tinyurl.com/3jnlum5.
no DNA and poses no environmental risk. He believes it can rival cremation for cost. The technology has been legalized in seven states to date. Another green alternative, Promession, is under development by Swedish Bi-
ologist Susanne Wiigh-Masak. It involves a fully automated machine that removes the body from the coffin and freezes it with liquid nitrogen. Vibrating breaks the corpse into fragments, which are then dried, refined and filtered to remove den- tal amalgam and other metals. The remains are then automatically poured into a biodegradable container for shallow burial. Wiigh-Masak likens the process to composting, in which organic materials
convert to soil within weeks. She says that 60 countries around the world have expressed interest in the technology.
Source: BBC News
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