Larimer County officials voted 3-0 Monday night to block a crematorium at Resthaven Memorial Gardens north of Loveland.
Commissioner Glenn Gibson said he was swayed by more than 200 residents in subdivisions near the cemetery who showed up to oppose it on the grounds that toxic fumes could waft over their neighborhoods.
Residents specifically feared that mercury from amalgam dental fillings would vaporize and escape through the crematorium’s smokestack. In high enough concentrations, mercury emissions can contaminate water and air, eventually posing health risks to humans and animals.
Larimer County officials, however, have said they have not determined the level of risk, if any, the crematorium might pose to air quality.
In November, the Larimer County Planning Commission voted unanimously against permitting the crematorium at Resthaven.
County officials had recommended the crematorium install a $500,000 scrubbing system, but owner Rick Allnutt said that was too expensive and his business could not recover the cost. He also rejected the suggestion that he remove tooth fillings from the mouths of bodies before they are sent to the crematorium as inappropriate treatment of the deceased.
