According to the Cremation Assn. of North America, a 2005 survey found 46% of Americans planned to choose cremation, compared with 31% in 1990. Its use varies widely by region: In Nevada and Hawaii, two-thirds of bodies were cremated in 2005; in a number of Southern states, a tenth were.
The EPA does not regulate emissions from crematories, spokeswoman Margot Perez-Sullivan said. It estimates that about 600 pounds of mercury, less than 1% of all mercury emissions, come from crematories in the U.S. every year. (By contrast, the British government requires new crematories to install filters to cut mercury emissions, according to the British Broadcasting Corp. It estimates that fillings account for 16% of mercury emissions in the United Kingdom, where the cremation rate is greater than 70%.)
In recent years, several states have taken stabs at the issue.
In Minnesota, state Sen. John Marty repeatedly has sought -- and failed -- to pass a law requiring crematory operators to remove teeth or install filters.
He said crematories in Minnesota emit an estimated 68 pounds of mercury every year -- 3% to 5% of mercury emissions in the state. Though coal-fired power plants constitute the greatest problem, Marty said, "we have to go after every source. But it's not easy politically because people are really squeamish about talking about corpses."
In 2005 Maine lawmakers considered, but defeated, a similar bill.
Colorado does not regulate crematories' mercury emissions, which state health officials estimate at about 110 pounds per year.
But the state health department last year began examining the issue. Funded by the EPA, the effort seeks to reduce the amount of mercury emitted through voluntary partnerships with crematory operators, said McMillan, the program's manager.
So far, collaboration appears unlikely to succeed.
"Their assumptions are all incorrect," said Mark Matthews, a director for the Cremation Assn. of North America. "There's a battle over something that doesn't exist. The data doesn't add up, and the science isn't there."
He said no studies had found higher concentrations of mercury near crematories, and he pointed out that the EPA does not regulate them.
Even if there were a problem, Matthews said, the proposed solution is "unworkable." For one, he said, families often have viewings before a cremation; removing the teeth probably would mean disfiguring the face. And the idea is upsetting to grieving relatives, he said. "To suggest that we ought to remove the teeth is completely insensitive to the families we serve."
