Resomation
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Resomation (also known as alkaline hydrolysis) is a process for the disposal of human remains, which is claimed by its practitioners to be more ecologically favourable than cremation. The process is being marketed world-wide as an alternative to the traditional options of burial or cremation. As at the summer of 2007 it is claimed that more than 1,000 people have been resomated in the United States of America,[1] although most sources cite the British company 'Resomation Limited'[2] as the driving force behind the procedure.
In Resomation (the term itself is believed to be trademarked in certain territories) the body is placed in a silk bag, itself placed within a metal cage frame. This is then loaded into a resomation machine for approximately three hours. The machine is filled with a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide (roughly 500l of water and 20l of hydroxide), and heated to a high temperature (around 160 degrees Celsius), but at a high pressure, which prevents boiling. Instead, the body is effectively dissolved into its chemical components.
The end result is a small quantity of green-brown tinted liquid (containing amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts) and what appear to be bones, but are described as calcium phosphate 'shadows' of the bones, easily crushed in the hand (although a cremulator is more commonly used) to form a white-coloured dust.[3] Both the liquid and the dust can be returned to the next of kin of the deceased, and may be buried or applied to a garden.
The resomation process is currently being championed by a number of ecological campaigning groups,[4] and is also being presented as an alternative option at some British crematorium sites.[5] However, in May 2008 state lawmakers in New Hampshire banned the practice.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ America's 'Physorg News' is one source of this claim.
- ^ External link to this company's website.
- ^ This Australian site has an idiosyncratic style, but is heavily illustrated with useful diagrams and photographs of the process.
- ^ The Groovy Green website is one example of such sites.
- ^ See the October 2007 Newsletter of Worthing Crematorium, operated by Worthing Borough Council in West Sussex, England.
- ^ State Bans Method Of Disposing Of Remains - New Hampshire News Story - WMUR Manchester
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