Destinação de restos mortais humanos: uma proposta de manejo para o município de Caxias do Sul

Abstract

The contamination of soil, water, and air by cemeteries is an environmental and public health problem, which requires rigorous evaluation when implementing these spaces, given that there are specific laws and technical standards on the subject. Most existing cemeteries, due to the time of installation, were not implemented taking into account environmental protection, requiring forms of impact mitigation, especially in traditional cemeteries. This study aims to analyze the main methods of disposal of human remains, concerning the environmental impacts potentially generated, to propose forms of management for the Municipality of Caxias do Sul. The proposed method was developed in two stages, the first being documental research and the second convergent assistance research. The data from the second stage were organized, analyzed, and treated by descriptive statistics and presented in the form of tables. Based on the analysis of the results, a proposal for the management of human remains was elaborated for the Municipality, to reduce their impact on environmental compartments. The main results show that the methods currently available have advantages and disadvantages. Environmental damage in burial constructions with adequate sealing of the fluids inside is generally small, as is that of cremation. Aerobic consummation, despite its low cost, needs extensive knowledge for installation to capture the fluids in a way that does not generate damage to the environment. Alkaline hydrolysis is the only method capable of removing amoxicillin residues, which is important from an environmental health point of view. Freeze-drying can generate by-products for composting. The costs for implementing the project were also evaluated, based on the literature. Taking into account the environmental damage and impacts and the characteristics of the destination of remains currently performed in the Municipality understudy, the proposal focuses on the adoption of aerobic consumption systems in traditional cemeteries, in addition to encouraging the construction of a public crematorium, in a sustainable way, which thus reduces the environmental impact, provides social services, favors the awareness of the population, as well as enables the reduction of cemetery population density. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]