LA suspends air quality rules to incinerate backlog of Covid-19 victims

Los Angeles County has temporarily suspended air quality rules to allow covid-19 victims to be cremated, according to a executive order passed through the South Coast Air Quality Management District this weekend. Rules will be suspended for 10 days as the region operates thanks to a “backlog” of people who have died from the coronavirus pandemic, which remains unchecked in many parts of the country.

Los Angeles County has 28 crematoriums, although these facilities are prohibited by law from operating at full capacity in order to reduce air pollution. But with more than 2,700 bodies currently sitting in cold rooms due to an influx of patients who have died from the covid-19 crisis, local officials have decided that dirtier air is the price Angelenos will have to pay if l he backlog must one day be eliminated.

“The coroner has determined that the current death rate in Los Angeles County is more than double that of pre-pandemic years, and predicts another wave is approaching following the New Year’s holidays, as deaths tend to increase. occur 4-6. weeks after the gatherings, and the capacity of the deceased management system, including hospitals, funeral homes, crematoria and the coroner’s office is overwhelmed, ”the executive order reads.

Los Angeles has been hit particularly hard by the covid-19 pandemic, with the county recently having passed one million total cases. The county also reported 13,936 deaths as of Monday evening. The United States has identified more than 24 million cases and at least 398,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.

Cremated bodies create air pollution and release traces of dangerous chemicals, such as mercury. The most common source of mercury in the cremation process is dental fillings in the deceased. Baby boomers, a generation that received mercury dental work before the development of alternatives.

Like a 2015 study for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found:

…The mercury in dental amalgams is known to vaporize upon exposure to high cremation temperature (1400 to 2000 ° F). It becomes airborne in emissions at 674 ° F and contributes to environmental mercury pollution (Mari and Domingo, 2009). The potential health effects of exposure to mercury released by dental amalgam restorations during cremation have sparked public concern and debate.

Vaccines are being rolled out across the United States, but the process has been fraught with pitfalls, in large part thanks to a completely hands-off approach by the Trump regime that has left local governments to fend for themselves. And while Los Angeles hoped to get all medical staff vaccinated before opening vaccines to other segments of the population, the county announced Monday night that it would now allow anyone 65 and over to get vaccinated. from January 21.

“Over the past few weeks, Los Angeles County has administered the vaccine to frontline healthcare workers, so they can stay safe while doing the important work of saving lives, residents and staff in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Los Angeles County Supervisory Board Chair Hilda Solis said his website.

“The deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine has been a huge undertaking, especially during an unprecedented surge where cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to skyrocket,” Solis continued. “However, if we are to ever emerge from this bleak winter one day, it is essential that we make progress on vaccinating people 65 and older as soon as possible – as recommended by Governor Gavin Newsom.”

While the end is in sight, there are still a few hard months to wait, as local health authorities continue to make tough choices – in some cases, between vaccinating medical staff or the elderly. And in even more worrying cases, the difficult choice between cleaner air and the public health crisis created by having too many corpses lying around.