Council Delays Vote on Proposed Crematory Operation

The Manassas City Council has voted once again to delay a special use permit,  which would allow Pierce Funeral Home to build and operate two crematories at its Centre Street location.

The issue was first brought before council members during a February 27 public hearing, when Lee Square  resident Abby Femino spoke out about the concern of mercury emissions associated with the practice. Mercury is vaporized and emitted as an odorless, invisible gas during cremation when silver amalgam tooth fillings are incinerated.

Since then, council members have received four emails from additional residents expressing concern over mercury. 

Council delayed the vote for another two weeks the first time around so the city could gather more information on mercury emissions, and they have voted to do so again. 

Pierce Funeral Home owner Bob Pierce hired Cambridge Environmental Inc.,  to conduct a study in an effort to find out just how much mercury would be going into the atmosphere should the human and pet crematories be built and operated. Their findings indicated that the amount of mercury emissions being emitted into the environment from the proposed crematories would be almost 100 times less that than that allowed by the state. Mercury emissions from crematories is not even on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) radar due to very low levels and the lack of a hazard presented.

But Femino said her research indicates otherwise. She said the last report by the EPA to congress on the subject of mercury emissions by a crematory is over 15 years old and she found out that mercury emissions from cremation is 3.3 tons annually— 11 times more than the EPA indicates. She also found the EPA doesn't actually have a state or federal regulation for mercury emission.

Others spoke out about against the building of the crematories, including Rev. Robert Cilinski of All Saints Catholic Church, who said he is concerned about children who attend nearby All Saints Catholic School and Pennington School after reading a study that found mercury from crematoriums that burn 200 bodies a year emitted as much mercury as 5,500 home furnaces. Pierce estimated about 160 bodies would be cremated at the location per year. As a result, Rev. Cliniski suggested having the silver amalgam tooth fillings removed before the cremation process.

But Pierce said that would only lead to customers going elsewhere for the process, including Baker Post Funeral Home, a few miles down the road, which also operates a crematory. He also said not allowing the crematories would be bad business for the city because it would generate more tax revenue.

Councilman Steven Randolph proposed the council delay the vote on the special use permit to the next regularly-scheduled council meeting on March 26, so more information on mercury emissions could be considered.

Read more: on Manassas Patch.

Manassas council delays crematorium decision on InsideNova.com