It's not an acid bath. It's an alkaline bath:
When it comes to putting loved ones in their final resting places, our choice has long been whether to bury a body or cremate it. But a third option has been gaining attention recently: Alkaline hydrolysis, which involves dissolving a body in a liquid solution. The process leaves behind bones that can be ground into ash using much less energy than cremation. Though it sounds a bit gruesome, the approach offers many benefits. "This by far is the most environmentally friendly choice" Dean Fisher, director of the Donated Body Program at UCLA told Wired.
[...] Having a body cremated may seem like a sustainable burial, but in most cases it's not great for the environment. In cremation, everything is burned into ash, including bone and medical implants. That can lead to the release of harmful pollutants. In the UK, for instance, cremation contributes to 16% of all mercury pollution. And as The Atlantic has reported, cremation takes about two SUV-tanks worth of gas to cremate a single body. Alkaline hydrolysis, on the other hand, requires only an eighth of that energy, Gizmodo reports.
Also at Here & Now (4:45 audio).
California: AB-967 Human remains disposal: alkaline hydrolysis: licensure and regulation.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 26 2017, @07:24PM (2 children)
I see, the harm you are causing to the environment does not end with death now... I wonder if people realize the crazy cult they are joining by buying into this stuff.
This is actually worse than any previous religion's conception of original sin, all based on word games regarding what is "pollution" and "natural". Next we will be told to accept the need to let someone block out the sun for our own good, they will control who and where gets the energy...
(Score: 2, Insightful) by takyon on Saturday August 26 2017, @09:02PM (1 child)
If they offer it for cheaper than burial or traditional cremation, what's the problem with it being environmentally friendly or energy efficient? And how do you reconcile this:
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 27 2017, @07:47PM
Enivronmentally friendly isn't a term that really means anything, if it is more energy efficient it should be cheaper I guess so go for it. I don't see how this process is any more effective than cremation at dealing with the mercury.