Environmentally conscious individuals are boosting a new alternative to traditional cremation that avoids the problems associated with incineration.

Right now, the only way to ensure a loved one quickly returns from ashes to ashes in most of the country is to choose cremation. The incineration of human remains has grown in popularity of late because of its lower cost and environmental footprint relative to traditional burial.

But the truly environmentally conscious are quick to point out that cremation is actually far from environmentally friendly. The incineration process releases carbon and heavy metals into the atmosphere, contributing to pollution and greenhouse gas concentration. The remains can also contain toxic substances that can make safe disposal problematic.

A more recent technology, developed by a Scottish biochemist and being promoted by him and others, sends those problems down the drain.

The process involves placing the deceased in a steel chamber filled with a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide. The chamber is then sealed and pressurized to 145 pounds per square inch. The alkaline water is then heated to about 356 degrees Fahrenheit (the high pressure keeps it from boiling). After two to three hours, the body is reduced to a greenish-brown liquid with the consistency of motor oil and bones that can be ground into a fine white powder. The liquid is flushed down the drain, and the powder can be given to loved ones just like the ash that remains after cremation. Unlike the ash, however, the only substance left in the powder is calcium - all the other chemicals are dissolved and can either be converted into soaps or removed through treatment of the waste water.

The biochemist, Sandy Sullivan, developed the process while working on a European Union-funded project to develop safe ways to dispose of cows infected with mad cow disease. Realizing that it could be used to dispose of human remains, he coined the term "resomation," a word derived from a Greek word meaning "rebirth of the body," to promote it to the funeral industry.

Technically called alkaline hydrolysis and also known as liquid cremation or biocremation, the process has already received official blessing from the Cremation Association of North America.

Resomation offers numerous environmental advantages over traditional cremation. Because the process takes place at a much lower temperature, it uses about one-seventh of the energy used in regular cremation, and it releases no carbon or toxic substances into the atmosphere. The powdered remains are also free of contaminants.

The process is not without its critics, however. While three states -- Florida, Maine and Oregon -- have okayed liquid cremation as an alternative to incineration, a fourth, New Hampshire, banned its use in 2009 after initially approving it in 2006 on the grounds that it was disrespectful of the dead. New Hampshire State Rep. John Cebrowski was quoted at the time the ban was approved as saying that he didn't want "to send a loved one to be used as fertilizer or sent down the drain to a sewer treatment plant."

A bill to legalize liquid cremation in California has stalled over concerns about worker safety and possible harm to water systems. The liquid that remains after cremation is complete is caustic enough to burn human skin and could cause damage to aging pipes if discharged into a local sewer system. The chief promoter of the California bill, State Assemblyman Jeff Miller, says the safety and environmental concerns have been dealt with by changes in how the wastewater is handled at the end of the process.

While environmentally conscious individuals are already rushing to embrace this new method of human disposal, the gut-reaction issues still keep many from considering it. Even though loved ones can receive an urn with the powdered remains at the end of the funeral, the idea that Grandma has been turned to sludge and spread across a farm plot still causes some revulsion. Funeral directors who promote liquid cremation say they need to thoroughly educate consumers about what the process entails in order to gain acceptance.

As of now, cost is not an issue for those interested in resomation. Funeral parlors that offer the process charge the same for liquefaction as they do for incineration. As the liquefactors sell for about $400,000 each, Cremation Association of North America Executive Director John Ross says that funeral homes could conceivably charge more for the process to recoup their investment. As he told MSNBC contributor Bill Briggs, "People will pay somewhat more for something that is more environmentally preferable to them. But there is a limit to how much people will pay."

Written by Sandy Smith March 1, 2011