Mercury Fillings Cause Air Pollution in Cremations
from thisislondon.co.uk
Cremation costs to rise as tooth fillings poison the living
09.01.07
Just one gram of mercury in a lake can cause toxicity, while many Britons have two to four grams in fillings inside their mouths
Cremation costs are set to rise by up to ?100 - because the teeth of the dead are poisoning the living.
Bereaved families are to be hit with a charge to fund new filters that stop toxic fumes from vaporised mercury fillings polluting the atmosphere.
The levy could see the price of having a loved one cremated rise by up to a third.
But environmentalists say it is vital to cut the spiralling mercury emissions from dental fillings that contaminate the air, waterways, soil, wildlife and food.
Mercury pollution has been linked with birth defects, kidney disease and multiple sclerosis. Cremations already cause nearly one sixth of all UK emissions of the metal.
Left unchecked, this would likely rise by two thirds by 2020, making crematoria the biggest single cause of mercury pollution in the country.
In an attempt to stop it getting out of control, the government has ordered half of crematoria to fit the new filters by 2012.
Those who have already installed the new technology started charging an ?35 for cremations this month.
And with the filters costing up to ?300,000 to fit, there are fears the charge could rapidly rise to ?100.
By 2013 all cremations will be subject to the new levy. Grieving relatives will be expected to pay, regardless of whether their loved one has any mercury fillings.
Duncan McCallum, secretary of the Federation of British Cremation Authorities, said: "The government's decision was that the person at the end of the chain pays, and unfortunately that is the family of the deceased.
"We would have preferred some funding to assist the installation."
He said the charge would be reviewed annually, and it was impossible to predict how high it could rise.
Cremations now account for around three out of four funerals in Britain. Most cost between ?300 and ?400, but the average cost of the full funeral is ?1215.
The rise in mercury pollution from crematoria is caused by increasing deaths in what dentists describe as the "heavy metal generation" - those in their 40s and above.
These people are dying with more teeth because of better dental care.
But many of those teeth are loaded with potentially dangerous levels of mercury-laced fillings.
Millions of Britons have two to four grams of mercury in their mouths.
Just a single gramme in a 25-acre lake can raise toxic levels in fish to danger levels.
Adults who have absorbed mercury or inhaled mercury vapour lose their appetite, are emotionally unstable, have trouble sleeping and develop gastric problems, sore gums and dribble excessively.
Researchers have also found that higher levels of mercury can lead to an increased risk of heart disease in men.
High mercury levels in food are especially dangerous for pregnant women, affecting their baby's central nervous system.
Other countries including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have already taken steps to regulate mercury emissions from crematoria.
The only alternative way of cutting mercury emissions from dental fillings would be to remove filled teeth from bodies before cremation, but experts say this would be too time consuming.
Cremation costs to rise as tooth fillings poison the living
09.01.07
Just one gram of mercury in a lake can cause toxicity, while many Britons have two to four grams in fillings inside their mouths
Cremation costs are set to rise by up to ?100 - because the teeth of the dead are poisoning the living.
Bereaved families are to be hit with a charge to fund new filters that stop toxic fumes from vaporised mercury fillings polluting the atmosphere.
The levy could see the price of having a loved one cremated rise by up to a third.
But environmentalists say it is vital to cut the spiralling mercury emissions from dental fillings that contaminate the air, waterways, soil, wildlife and food.
Mercury pollution has been linked with birth defects, kidney disease and multiple sclerosis. Cremations already cause nearly one sixth of all UK emissions of the metal.
Left unchecked, this would likely rise by two thirds by 2020, making crematoria the biggest single cause of mercury pollution in the country.
In an attempt to stop it getting out of control, the government has ordered half of crematoria to fit the new filters by 2012.
Those who have already installed the new technology started charging an ?35 for cremations this month.
And with the filters costing up to ?300,000 to fit, there are fears the charge could rapidly rise to ?100.
By 2013 all cremations will be subject to the new levy. Grieving relatives will be expected to pay, regardless of whether their loved one has any mercury fillings.
Duncan McCallum, secretary of the Federation of British Cremation Authorities, said: "The government's decision was that the person at the end of the chain pays, and unfortunately that is the family of the deceased.
"We would have preferred some funding to assist the installation."
He said the charge would be reviewed annually, and it was impossible to predict how high it could rise.
Cremations now account for around three out of four funerals in Britain. Most cost between ?300 and ?400, but the average cost of the full funeral is ?1215.
The rise in mercury pollution from crematoria is caused by increasing deaths in what dentists describe as the "heavy metal generation" - those in their 40s and above.
These people are dying with more teeth because of better dental care.
But many of those teeth are loaded with potentially dangerous levels of mercury-laced fillings.
Millions of Britons have two to four grams of mercury in their mouths.
Just a single gramme in a 25-acre lake can raise toxic levels in fish to danger levels.
Adults who have absorbed mercury or inhaled mercury vapour lose their appetite, are emotionally unstable, have trouble sleeping and develop gastric problems, sore gums and dribble excessively.
Researchers have also found that higher levels of mercury can lead to an increased risk of heart disease in men.
High mercury levels in food are especially dangerous for pregnant women, affecting their baby's central nervous system.
Other countries including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have already taken steps to regulate mercury emissions from crematoria.
The only alternative way of cutting mercury emissions from dental fillings would be to remove filled teeth from bodies before cremation, but experts say this would be too time consuming.
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...ahh, those whacky Euro eco-freaks, gotta love 'em!...[;)] 
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why dont they just pull the teeth before they smoke em? 0 -
quote:Originally posted by rogue_rob
why dont they just pull the teeth before they smoke em?
"The only alternative way of cutting mercury emissions from dental fillings would be to remove filled teeth from bodies before cremation, but experts say this would be too time consuming."0 -
Part of the required APC (Air Pollution Controls) on all crematoruims includes a baghouse and Lime injection to control the pH. Most of the Mercury that is outgassed is absorbed by the lime and the remainder of the small amount that is left can be adsorbed (different mechanism than absorb) by Activated Carbon, the black rock that you put in your aquarium filter.
Burning coal for power generation generates much more mercury pollution in one hour than cremation would cause in a year simply because of the huge amounts of coal that are burned every second. Again, adding a small amount of Powdered Activated Carbon to the lime slurry has been shown to effectively reduce the Hg emissions to negligible levels.0 -
If it doesn't hurt those of us who have a mouth full of mercury fillings in direct contact with our saliva 24/7 then I don't see the harm in vaporizing them and releasing the vapor into the air. The whole thing seems like a nit-picky excuse because they are creeped out at having a crematorium next door. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by chappsyny
If it doesn't hurt those of us who have a mouth full of mercury fillings in direct contact with our saliva 24/7 then I don't see the harm in vaporizing them and releasing the vapor into the air. The whole thing seems like a nit-picky excuse because they are creeped out at having a crematorium next door.
but it does, some say it is linked to alzheimer's0 -
If they think that's bad, imagine how much mercury's in the ground from people being buried! Wonder how much gets into our drinking water? 0 -
Adults who have absorbed mercury or inhaled mercury vapour lose their appetite, are emotionally unstable, have trouble sleeping and develop gastric problems, sore gums and dribble excessively.
Explains a lot of the stuff going on here from time to time. [:D]0 -
I know the Brits have put up signs on every crematorium
Signs asking the corpses to leave dental fillings due to pollution and pacemakers due to risk of explosions..
Brits usually believe people - so they don't check if the fillings and pacemakers are disposed of before cremation.0
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