German obesity rates trigger crematoria safety concerns

Rising obesity rates in Germany have triggered safety concerns in crematoria as furnaces struggle to cope with bigger bodies.

Some facilities have started to cater for larger bodies by introducing more modern furnaces and bigger doors 

Cremations have gone awry and uncontrolled fires started by temperatures generated by the combustion of the high fat content of the obese dead.

News magazine Der Spiegel reported an incident at a crematorium in Hamelin earlier this year when the cremation of a 440-pound corpse led to flames shooting out of its 35-foot chimney and metal elements melting. The fire brigade estimated that temperatures in the chimney hit 1,100F (600C), and it eventually took four hours to reduce the corpse to ashes.

Carl Schmidt, the crematorium's manager, attributed the blaze to "extreme heat due to the burning of a high amount of fat".

The problem has reached such a level that Jochen Sembdner, a crematorium safety expert, is quoted by Der Spiegel as saying that "unforeseen fires happen at many crematoria".

Some facilities have started to cater for larger bodies by introducing more modern furnaces and bigger doors but with Germans following in the footsteps of the developed world and getting fatter other measures have been called for.

A study by Bavaria's Environment Agency recommended the introduction of "weight limits specific to each facility" and the furnace manufacturers will soon be required to set maximum weight limits for their products.
To make matters worse an uncontrolled fire can lead to smoke bearing all manner of toxins bypassing filters and spewing out of the chimney into the air. Unfiltered smoke can contain dioxins, furans, mercury from dental fillings and other heavy metals.
The Bavarian Environment Agency also found that cremation of the heavy dead exceeds pollution limits owing to high emissions of carbon monoxide.
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