Katharina Buczek
And even though decomposition only takes about ten years, many of these pollutants will stick around in the soil for much longer. Trace metals, for example, will virtually never leave. Their concentrations will dilute over time but never disappear.
The greatest cemetery risk posed to the state of public health right now, though, is undoubtedly pathogens. In the past, people assumed that after you put formaldehyde in a body, the pathogens would eventually die off.
However, more recent studies have uncovered all kinds of harmful microbes blooming beneath cemetery grounds– including E. coli, salmonella, B. anthracis (which carries anthrax), and C. perfringens (which can cause foodborne illness).
In one laboratory simulation, E. coli even survived the biocide that was intended to kill the bacteria.
Before the fear of cemetery contamination keeps you up at night, though, it is crucial to note that these toxic waste sites are not posing an immediate risk of danger.
Nonetheless, studies show that cemeteries can harbor many things which can seriously threaten public health– and this raises the question of how to properly put the deceased to rest in both ethical and environmentally friendly ways.
Many researchers now believe that burial is just unsustainable for the long-term health of our population. Of course, though, coming up with an alternative to this age-old practice that is both respectful and environmentally conscious is no easy feat.
Even cremation, the next most popular form of arrangement, is not without its own environmental footprint.
But, in recent years, plenty of new ideas have begun to swirl throughout the public– such as vertical cemeteries, mushroom suits, and even freezing a body before turning it to dust. Just how well they will be accepted into mainstream practice, though, remains to be seen.
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