Cremation is the process of reducing human remains to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high temperatures and vaporization. Contrary to popular belief, the cremated remains are not ashes in the usual sense, but rather dried bone fragments that have been pulverized in a device called an electric cremated remains processor . This leaves the bone in a fine sand like texture and colour, able to be scattered without any foreign matter.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or postfuneral rite that is an alternative to the interment of an intact body in a casket. Cremated remains, which are not a health risk, may be buried or immured in memorial sites or cemeteries, or they may be legally retained by relatives or dispersed in a variety of ways and locations.
In many countries cremation is usually done in a crematory but others may prefer different methods. An example is the common practice of open-air cremation in India.
Modern cremation process
The cremation occurs in a crematory, consisting of one or more cremator furnaces or cremation retorts for the ashes. A cremator is an industrial furnace capable of generating temperatures of 870–980 °C (1,598–1,796 °F) to ensure disintegration of the corpse. A crematorium may be part of chapel or a funeral home, or part of an independent facility or a service offered by a cemetery.
Modern cremator fuels include natural gas and propane. However, coal and coke were used until the early 1960s.
Modern cremators have adjustable control systems that monitor the furnace during cremation.
A cremation furnace is not designed to cremate more than one body at a time, something that is illegal in many countries, including the U.S. Exceptions are sometimes made in extreme cases, such as of a deceased mother and her still-born child or still-born twins, but in these cases the mother and child have to be placed in the same coffin.
The chamber where the body is placed is called the retort . It is lined with refractory bricks that resist the heat. The bricks are typically replaced every five years because of thermal fatigue.
Modern cremators are computer-controlled to ensure legal and safe use; e.g., the door cannot be opened until the cremator has reached operating temperature. The coffin is inserted (charged) into the retort as quickly as possible to avoid heat loss through the top-opening door. The coffin may be on a charger (motorised trolley) that can quickly insert the coffin, or one that can tilt and tip the coffin into the cremator.
Some crematoria allow relatives to view the charging. This is sometimes done for religious reasons, such as in traditional Hindu and Jain funerals.
Most cremators are a standard size. Typically, larger cities have access to an oversize cremator that can handle deceased in the 200 kilograms (440 lb)+ range. Most large crematoriums have a small cremator installed for the cremation of fetal and infant remains.
Body container
In the U.S., a body ready to be cremated must be placed in a container for cremation, which can be a simple corrugated cardboard box or a wooden casket. Most casket manufacturers provide a line of caskets specially built for cremation. Another option is a cardboard box that fits inside a wooden shell designed to look like a traditional casket. After the funeral service, the interior box is removed from the shell before cremation, permitting the shell to be reused. Funeral homes may also offer rental caskets, which are traditional caskets used only for the duration of the services, after which the body is transferred to another container for cremation. Rental caskets are sometimes designed with removable beds and liners, which are replaced after each use.
In the UK, the body is not removed from the coffin and is not placed into a container as described above. The body is cremated with the coffin, which is why all UK coffins that are to be used for cremation must be made of combustible material. The Code of Cremation Practice forbids the opening of the coffin once it has arrived at the crematorium, and rules stipulate it must be cremated within 72 hours of the funeral service. Thus, in the UK, bodies are cremated in the same coffin as they are placed in at the undertakers although the regulations allow the use of an approved 'cover' during the funeral service. It is recommended that jewellery be removed before the coffin is sealed for this reason. After the cremation process has been completed, the remains are passed through a magnetic field to remove any metal, which will be interred elsewhere in the crematorium grounds, or increasingly, recycled. The ashes are then given to relatives or loved ones or scattered in the Crematorium grounds where facilities exist.
In Australia, the deceased are cremated in a coffin supplied by the undertaker. Reusable or cardboard coffins are becoming popular with several manufacturers now supplying them. If cost is an issue, a plain, particle-board coffin (known in the trade as a "chippie") will be offered. Handles (if fitted) are plastic and approved for use in a cremator. Coffins vary from natural cardboard or unfinished particle board (covered with a velvet pall if there is a service) to solid timber; most are veneered particle board.
Cremations can be "delivery only," with no preceding chapel service at the crematorium (although a church service may have been held) or preceded by a service in one of the crematorium chapels. Delivery-only allows crematoriums to schedule cremations to make best use of the cremators, perhaps by holding the body overnight in a refrigerator. As a result, a lower fee is applicable. Delivery-only may be referred to in industry jargon as "west chapel service."
Burning and ashes collection
The box containing the body is placed in the retort and incinerated at a temperature of 760° to 1150°C (1400° to 2100°F). During the cremation process, a large part of the body (especially the organs) and other soft tissue are vaporized and oxidized because of the heat, and the gases are discharged through the exhaust system. The entire process usually takes about two hours.
All that remains after cremation are dry bone fragments (mostly calcium phosphates and minor minerals). Their color is usually light grey. They represent very roughly 3.5% of the body's original mass (2.5% in children). Because the weight of dry bone fragments is so closely connected to skeletal mass, their weight varies greatly from person to person, although it is more closely connected with the person's height and sex than with their simple weight. The mean weight of adult cremated remains in a Florida, U.S. sample was 5.3 lb (approx. 2.4 kg) for adults (range 2 to 8 lb or 0.91 to 3.6 kg). This was found to be distributed bimodally according to sex, with the mean being 6 pounds (2.7 kg) for men (range 4 to 8 lb or 1.8 to 3.6 kg) and 4 pounds (1.8 kg) for women (range 2 to 6 lb or 0.91 to 2.7 kg). In this sample, generally all adult cremated remains over 6 pounds (2.7 kg) were from males, and those under 4 pounds (1.8 kg) were from females.
Jewelry, such as wristwatches and rings, are ordinarily removed and returned to the family. The only nonnatural item required to be removed is a pacemaker, because it could explode and damage the cremator. Also the mercury contained in a pacemaker's batteries poses an unacceptable risk of air pollution. In the United Kingdom, and possibly other countries, the undertaker is required to remove pacemakers prior to delivering the body to the crematorium, and sign a declaration stating that any pacemaker has been removed.
After the incineration is completed, the bone fragments are swept out of the retort and the operator uses a pulverizer called a cremulator to process them into what are known as cremated remains, which exhibit the appearance of grains of sand (note that this varies with the efficiency of the cremulator used, and recognizable chips of very dry bone may be seen in some final product cremated remains, depending on origin and facility). Cremulators usually use some kind of rotating or grinding mechanism to powder the bones, such as the heavy metal balls on older models. See also ball mill.
In a Japanese funeral and in Taiwan, the bones are not pulverized unless requested beforehand, and are collected by the family.
This is one of the reasons cremated remains are called ashes , although a technical term sometimes used is "cremains", a portmanteau of "cremated" and "remains". (The Cremation Association of North America prefers the word "cremains" to
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