Los Angeles County has temporarily suspended air quality rules to allow victims of covid-19 to be cremated, according to one executive order passed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District over the weekend. The rules will be suspended for 10 days because the region works with an “accumulation” of people who died from the coronavirus pandemic, which is not yet controlled in many parts of the country.
Los Angeles County has 28 crematoriums, although these facilities are prohibited by law from operating at full capacity to reduce air pollution. But with more than 2,700 bodies currently stored in cold rooms due to the influx of dead patients from the covid-19 crisis, local officials have decided that the dirtiest air is the price Angelenos will have to pay if the backlog is resolved.
“The Coroner determined that the current death rate in Los Angeles County is more than double the pre-pandemic years and predicts that another increase is coming as a result of the New Year holiday, as deaths tend to occur 4- 6 weeks after the meetings, and the capacity of the deceased management system, including hospitals, funeral homes, crematoriums and the coroner’s office, is being exceeded ”, says the executive order.
Los Angeles was particularly hit by the covid-19 pandemic, with the county recently surpassing 1 million cases. The county also reported 13,936 deaths on Monday night. The US has identified more than 24 million cases and at least 398,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.
Cremation of bodies generates air pollution and triggers traces of dangerous chemicals such as mercury. The most common source of mercury in the cremation process is dental fillings in cadavers Baby Boomers, a generation that received a mixture of mercury dental work before alternatives are developed.
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Like a 2015 study for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found:
…mercury in dental amalgams is known to vaporize when exposed to the high temperature of cremation (1400 to 2000 ° F). It becomes airborne in emissions at 674 ° F and contributes to the environmental pollution of mercury (Mari & Domingo, 2009). The potential health effects of exposure to mercury released from dental amalgam restorations during cremation have generated concern and public debate.
Vaccines are being launched across the United States, but the process has been plagued by failures, largely thanks to a totally indirect approach to the Trump regime, which has left local governments on their own. And while Los Angeles hoped to get vaccines for the entire medical team before opening vaccines to other segments of the population, the county announced on Monday night that it will now allow anyone aged 65 and over to be vaccinated from 21 January.
“In the past few weeks, Los Angeles County has administered the vaccine to frontline health workers so that they can be safe while doing the important work of saving lives, and residents and staff at qualified nursing facilities and long-term care. facilities, ”said Hilda Solis, chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, in a statement published in her website.
“The launch of the COVID-19 vaccine has been a huge undertaking, especially during an unprecedented rise where cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to skyrocket,” Solis continued. “However, if we want to get out of this gloomy winter, it is critical that we move forward by vaccinating people aged 65 and over as quickly as possible – according to the recommendations of Governor Gavin Newsom.”
While the end is near, some difficult months remain, as local health officials continue to make difficult choices – in some cases, between vaccinating medical workers or the elderly. And in even more disturbing cases, the difficult choice between cleaner air and the public health crisis that is created by the excess of scattered corpses.