Those Dental Bills Will Kill You

Health officials concerned about mercury pollution from crematories

Posted at 4:54 PM on 26 Dec 2007

More and more Americans are electing to be cremated, teeth and all. Stay with us here: Many dental fillings contain mercury, and health officials across the U.S. are raising concerns that mercury emissions from crematories will have adverse health effects on those still living. In one Colorado county, officials won't allow a mortician to move in unless he installs an expensive filter on his crematory smokestack -- or agrees to pull the teeth of the dead. Less than 1 percent of U.S. mercury emissions come from crematories, according to the EPA; in contrast, in the U.K., where 70 percent of Brits choose to be cremated, 16 percent of mercury emissions are estimated to come from the fillings of the dead.

source:  Los Angeles Times
see also, in Grist:  Umbra advises on corpses, Green-burial movement gets more ambitious