Dr. M. L. Davis:—
Dear Sir: I have completed the examination of the gaseous products recently obtained from the chimney of the Lancaster crematorium, and will now report the results of my investigation. The escaping products were tested at the crematorium for water and for gases readily soluble in water, and several bottles of these products were collected before the body was put in the retort, as well as during the cremation.
Water, etc., were tested for by passing several gallons of the escaping products through the U condensation tubes, surrounded by ice, and then through distilled water. The estimated amount of water in the products escaping before the body was put in the retort was .0011 of a cubic inch to the gallon, while during the cremation it was .0044 of a cubic inch to a gallon.
The water through which the gases were passed, both that used before the body was put in the retort and that used during the cremation, had a distinct acid reaction, quickly reddening blue litmus paper. I could not, however, detect any difference in the degree of acidity of the waters, and their reaction did not indicate that the gases which had passed through them were more acid than the gaseous products passing off from ordinary coal fires. The waters were found to contain traces of the mineral acids generally found in very small quantities in the products of the combustion of mineral coal. They gave no reaction for salts of ammonia, nor for sulphuretted hydrogen.
The gases collected for laboratory examination were tested especially for carbonic acid (CO2), illuminating gas, oxygen (O), carbonic oxide (CO), and nitrogen (N).
The method of examination employed was that generally followed in gas analysis, namely, the absorption of the gases by liquid reagents. Carbonic acid was absorbed by potassium hydrate; illuminants by bromine; oxygen by phosphorus; and carbonic oxide by cuprous chloride dissolved in hydrochloric acid.
The estimated amounts of the gases enumerated above are as follows, the values indicating the parts of a cubic inch to the gallon; the estimated water being also included in the table:—
| H2O | CO2 | Illuminating Gas. | O | CO | N | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before Cremation, | .0011 | .00080 | .000 | .0080 | .0000 | .016 |
| During Cremation, | .0044 | .00091 | .012 | .0065 | .0017 | .015 |
It will be seen by a comparison of these results that the gaseous products of ordinary coal combustion are modified to only an inconsiderable extent by matter passing through the walls of the cremation retort. Illuminating gas is a variable mixture of hydrogen, marsh gas, olefiant gas, and other gases, and is entirely harmless when produced in the small quantities indicated in the table, and so thoroughly distributed through the air. That so much free oxygen passes off with the escaping products is an indication of the thoroughness of the combustion, and the complete oxidation of the oxidizable products.
In conclusion, I would say that not any of the many and various tests, either at the crematorium or in my laboratory, of the products under consideration, indicated the presence of anything that would pollute the air. The burning of the body produces no material difference in the gases escaping from the chimney. The volume of the chimney products did not seem to be increased by the burning of the body, and the products had precisely the same odor during cremation that they had before the body was put in the retort.