Each month we will post links to pertinent articles in the deathcare profession. From lawsuits to quirky sites, we’ll bring you a one-stop shop from deathcare-related items on the web. Here are this month’s links.
German obesity rates trigger crematoria safety concerns, The Telegraph
Cremations have gone awry and uncontrolled fires started by temperatures generated by the combustion of the high fat content of the obese dead.
News magazine Der Spiegel reported an incident at a crematorium in Hamelin earlier this year when the cremation of a 440-pound corpse led to flames shooting out of its 35-foot chimney and metal elements melting. The fire brigade estimated that temperatures in the chimney hit 1,100F (600C), and it eventually took four hours to reduce the corpse to ashes.
New UAE crematorium caters for expat funeral needs, BBC News
Under Islam, the official religion, burial is the only option when somebody dies. This is the UAE’s newest crematorium – and the only one in the Gulf to have a non-Muslim graveyard alongside it.
Discovery of Indian artifacts complicates Genesis solar project, Kansas City Star
Howling winds uncovered a human tooth and a handful of burned bone fragments the size of quarters on a sand dune in the shadow of new solar power transmission towers. Indians say the discovery is evidence of a Native American cremation site not detected in Southern California Edison’s archaeological survey before the towers were built.
Cremated remains create S. Jersey mystery, Philly.com
Authorities are trying to figure out how a “well-tended” grave came to be placed under a tree in Gloucester Township, Camden County and whose body it contained. Investigators have been puzzled at how to solve the mystery of what appear to be cremated human remains in the grave. The grave site overlooks a potter’s field and is situated on county property, but not in a legal burial location.
Here’s the follow-up article, also from Philly.com.
