How Is Cremation Done?

Preparation

In preparation for cremation, one of the most important non-combustible personal items to remove from the body is the pacemaker. Pacemakers contain mercury that would be released into the atmosphere, and they may also explode and cause damage to the incinerator. Other large metallic pieces, such as jewelry and prosthetics, may be removed before cremation as well. If they are not removed prior to cremation, then they are removed afterward before the bone fragments are pulverized to protect the equipment.

The body of your loved one will be placed in a coffin that is completely combustible. It may be a decorative coffin specifically designed for cremation, a pressed wood coffin used solely for cremation purposes, or even a cardboard coffin that is inserted into a decorative rental coffin for services and removed for cremation. Your choice of coffin will relate directly to your funerary preferences (if there will be a service over the body or if the memorial will be held after the cremation), your local crematory guidelines, and your funeral's budgetary limits. It is not necessary to embalm a body that is destined for cremation.

Cremation

Cremations are performed either at a stand-alone crematorium, at a funeral home that offers cremation services, or at a cemetery with an on-site crematorium. Prior to the 1960s, oil and fuel coke was used to fuel the furnaces of many crematoriums. Today's cleaner fuel choices are propane and natural gas. The temperatures of cremation furnaces today are controlled by computers to ensure that they achieve the essential 1400 degrees F minimum. These temperatures do not burn the body to dust; rather, they vaporize and dry out the body so that the remains are composed mostly of dry, broken bone fragments.

When the body is ready for incineration, it is loaded either onto a conveyor or a tilt mechanism designed to deliver the casket into the incinerator when it reaches the appropriate heat (normally between 1,500 and 2,000 degrees F). Each body is cremated individually, as dictated by law. The family is normally allowed to view the the body being loaded into the incinerator upon request (known as the charging). After about two to three hours, the incineration process is complete.

Remains

When the incineration is complete, the bone fragments will be sorted to remove larger metallic debris (as from hinges and prosthetics). These pieces are usually returned to the family, recycled or buried in an area of consecrated ground. Your own crematorium will be able to tell you their standard procedure. Unless you have requested otherwise, the remains will then be transferred into a machine known as a cremulator. The cremulator will reduce the dry bones to finer particles that more closely resemble sand than dry bone fragments.

When the process is complete, your loved one's remains will be transferred into either a plastic container that is sealed and boxed, or into an urn that you have purchased or provided. After you claim these remains, they may be kept, buried, scattered, or even made into memorial jewelry. The flexibility of cremation is that your loved one has so many creative memorial opportunities at your disposal for their remains. The unfortunate reality of cremation is that there is always some particulate reside in the incinerator and cremulator that will mix with subsequent cremations.