What is Cremation?
Reprinted with Permission from CANA, Cremation Association of North America, October 2001.

Many people think of cremation as a burning of the body which results in ashes. In actuality, cremation is a process of extreme dehydration and evaporation created with intense heat and flame which reduces the composition of the body to bone fragments. These fragments are then further processed into a powdery substance called cremated remains.

Cremation takes place in a chamber called a retort. Each retort is only large enough to hold one cremation containter at one time. The cremation container is placed in the retort which is then heated to a temperature of 1600 degrees farenheit. This high level of heat produces the state of extreme dehydration and evaporation which causes the composition of the body to be reduced to bone fragments. This is the first step in the cremation process and takes approximately two hours.

After the cooling period, the cremated remains are removed from the retort. Any non-combustible materials, such as metal, which could not be reduced during cremation, are separated and removed. The bone fragments are then mechanically processed into fine particles. Cremated remains for the average adult weigh from four to eight pounds.

The cremated remains are then placed in an urn or temporary container, depending on the family's plans. The total time necessary for the entire cremation process in approximately five hours. Cremation is a strictly controlled process which takes place in carefully maintained facilities using procedural checkpoints which guard the dignity and individuality of each person.