Resomation
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Resomation is a specific patent pending alkaline hydrolysis process for the disposal of human remains, which is claimed by its creators to be much more ecologically favourable than cremation. The process is being marketed worldwide 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 and has the patent pending.
In Resomation (registered International trademark as is "Resomator") the body is placed in a silk bag, itself placed within a metal cage frame. This is then loaded into a Resomator 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 and ash.
The end result is a small quantity of green-brown tinted liquid (containing amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts) and soft, porous white bone remains (calcium phosphate) easily crushed in the hand (although a cremulator is more commonly used) to form a white-coloured dust.[3] The white ash can then be returned to the next of kin of the deceased.The liquid is recycled back to the ecosystem for example by being applied to a memorial garden or forest.
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] The process is currently legal in Minnesota, USA and was legal in New Hampshire, USA until a recent 1 year moratorium was imposed on the legislation to allow the technology claims to be studied and validated before public use.
[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.
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