No Crematory In My Back Yard

By 2025 nearly half of Americans will be cremated. A dramatic rise in the number of crematories has many communities worried about zoning and pollution.

1 minute read

November 13, 2003, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"By 2025, funeral industry studies suggest, nearly half of Americans will be cremated. Since 1999, the number of crematories has risen 20% — from 1,468 to 1,825 last year. But in communities from Connecticut to California, residents say they don't want them near their homes, right beneath their noses... Both sides debate how many particulates pass through the smokestack. 'If the average cadaver weighs in at 150 pounds... then almost 250,000 pounds of matter per year will be sent skywards and redistributed on our town.' "

Thanks to Chris Steins

Thursday, November 13, 2003 in The Los Angeles Times

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