The Cremation Process
What is the Cremation Process?
The cremation process is not done at our funeral home. We will transport your loved one to a crematory licensed by the State of Texas. The crematory will complete the cremation process and we will transport the ashes back to our funeral home. The information below
is provided by The Cremation Association of North America.
How Does Cremation Work?
Steps in the Cremation Process (Descriptive Language)
1.
Crematory staff will confirm the identity of the deceased by checking all paperwork. A cremation number or other identification (id) will be assigned. This number/id is often stamped onto a stainless steel disc, but may also be in the form of a barcode. The id/number is recorded on a cremation log. The stainless disc remains with the remains throughout their entire time at the cremation facility.
2.
When it is time for the cremation of the deceased, they will be removed from the storage unit and their identification will be confirmed using paperwork and the stainless disc. The container will be taken to the cremator unit and placed on a table in front of the cremator door.
3.
The deceased will be placed in a cremation container. The minimum requirement for a cremation container is that it be completely enclosed, rigid, leak resistant, and combustible. You may select a cardboard or particle board container, rental casket, a wooden casket, or even a highly polished casket, provided it is combustible and non-toxic. Metal caskets cannot be cremated.
4.
The door of the cremator will be opened, and the container will be placed inside the primary chamber. Usually this is performed manually with the aid of cardboard rollers or mechanically with a rolling conveyor loader. The stainless disc with number/id will be placed inside the cremator with the remains.
5.
The door will be closed and the cremation monitored carefully until it is completed. This is accomplished by heating the body, which contains between 65% and 85% water by weight, to a temperature high enough to facilitate the combustion process. Laws for required temperatures vary by state, but the cremation process usually occurs between 1400 and 1600 degrees F. The process can take anywhere from 30 minutes, as in the case of a stillborn, to over two hours depending on the body size and stored heat in the chamber.
6.
When the cremation process is complete, the door will be opened and identification checked again against paperwork and the stainless disc. The bone fragments that remain, now called cremated remains, will be carefully swept out of the cremator into a cooling tray, allowed to cool and taken to a processor.
7.
The processor is a machine that uses blades to pulverize the bone fragments until the remains are less than 1/8” in size.
8.
The cremated remains are then transferred to a strong plastic bag and placed in either an urn or temporary container if the family has not selected an urn yet. Identification is checked again and the stainless disc is placed in the container with the remains. The urn and its box are labeled with identifying paperwork and checked again before being stored for the family’s retrieval.
Source:
The Cremation Association of North America
Online Source:
Wikipedia, "Cremation" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cremation
