THE EDITOR, Sir:
REGARDING YOUR 'Letter of the Day' published on December 5, 2005 with the title 'Siting of cemetery seen as health risk', I would like to proffer the following as a matter of public interest and to further stimulate public debate on such matters.
Assessing the risks from cemeteries to groundwater is not, in my opinion, given sufficient weight in the decision-making process. Cemeteries do produce contaminants that can and do contaminate soil and groundwater. In the more developed countries, a tiered approach to assessing the risks from cemeteries or potential cemetery sites is the recommended approach. The reasons are self-evident: a human corpse normally decays in 10-12 years.
It is estimated that over half of the pollutant load leaches (washes out) within the first year and halves year-on-year thereafter. Pollutants include microbes/ pathogens (viruses, bacteria, etc) and chemical pollutants such as formaldehyde (which is potentially carcinogenic - i.e., cancer causing) plus ammonical nitrogen, mercury and other chemicals.
Estimates on a typical embalmed body shows that it contains approximately 180g of formaldehyde in around nine litres of embalming fluid and under typical decomposition processes may lead to an initial effluent concentration of 90mg/l declining to around five mg/l in 10 years.
The above demonstrates that cemeteries are polluting bodies. Additionally, it is generally accepted that cement vaults are not impervious to cemetery effluents. The common stages of the risk assessment involves a series of stages, namely, hazard identification; identification of consequences; magnitude of consequences; probability of consequences; and significance of risk.
GROUNDWATER ABSTRACTION LICENCES
This is normally carried firstly as a desk study (Tier 1), which reviews published maps (topographical maps, groundwater vulnerability maps, etc), and groundwater abstraction licences in the vicinity of the proposed site to assess the potential pathways and receptors. From this review, a qualitative assessment is made of the significance of the risks posed, for example, whether the risks are high, intermediate or low. This initial approach is then used to inform whether more detailed assessments are required to better quantify these risks.
If such an approach is adopted by the planning authority and the review undertaken by competent persons, such as contaminant hydrogeologists, it is likely that the risk to the environment from cemeteries can be adequately controlled.
I am, etc.,
BRIAN RICHARDSON, BSc, MSc,
FGS
brichardson@eiacaribbean.com
Contaminant Hydrogeologist
Environmental Management
Consultants (Caribbean) Ltd
Via Go-Jamaica
