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Topeka, Kansas
Funeral industry regulators in Kansas are working on putting rules into place that would allow funeral service providers to use a new method of cremation by July. Many funeral homes, already struggling with declining profits with the popularity of cremation, are against the process, as it allows for another potentially lower-cost solution for consumers.
The scientific term for the new method, Alkaline Hydrolysis, removes the need for a flame. Instead, the process combines heat, pressure and sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide solution. The human remains is reduced to dry bone residue and a slightly alkaline coffee-colored liquid mix of nutrients, sugars and protein parts that can be discarded.
Kansas legislators in 2010 passed a law that broadens the definition of cremation and makes the state just the seventh in the nation to allow the practice.
Alkaline Hydrolysis, also called bio-cremation, has already been in place in the world of medical research. Medical researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the University of Florida already use the process for human cadavers. Researchers at other universities have used it for decades on animal carcasses too.
Proponents of the method point to its ecologically friendly nature, as the removal of fire eliminates emissions of carbon dioxide and of potentially noxious fumes such as mercury from dental fillings.
As of this writing, there have been no Kansas funeral homes applying to open a hydrolysis cremation unit. So far, Ohio is the only state in the U.S. where the process has been used. That state’s definition of cremation remains narrower than Kansas’ however, and regulators there consequently have questioned whether it is legal. Six other states have approved broader definitions such as Kansas’; legislators in 14 others are contemplating similar changes.
Costs structures for the potentially emerging alternative remain sketchy. Traditional cremation costs vary widely. However, they often range between $1,000 and $4,000, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. Costs for traditional funerals also vary but often range from $6,000 upward, according to Association figures.
