Often, when families choose Cremation in San Diego CA for a deceased loved one, they never see or touch the ashes. Instead, they ask for the cremains to be placed in an urn that is later buried in a cemetery or placed in a columbarium that may be a section of a mausoleum. When someone does plan to take the cremains home and then scatter them somewhere, it’s important to understand beforehand what the ashes will look and feel like.
Avoiding Surprise
It may be troubling for the person to learn about cremains, but being prepared is better than remaining ignorant in this situation. The person will not want to be surprised in an upsetting way when the expectations are different from the reality.
Weight
The heavy weight of the ashes after Cremation in San Diego CA may be startling. It is not like picking up a container with the same volume of fireplace ash. Statistics indicate the cremated remains of an average man weigh about 7 lbs. and an average woman about 5 lbs., but there are significant variations.
The bone material in the cremains accounts for the extra weight. In fact, the ashes consist entirely of pulverized bone fragments. Every other component of the body is completely destroyed during the intense heat of cremation. Thus, a person’s weight aside from the size of the entire skeleton is not relevant to the weight of the ashes.
Human bones are almost entirely composed of two types of substances: calcium phosphates and carbonates. The bones also absorb a small amount of metal over the person’s lifetime through sources like food and mineral supplements. These traces have been found when scientists analyze the composition of cremains.
The Container
The cremated remains will be given to the person designated to receive them either in an urn or another container. If the family has not purchased an urn from an organization such as West Coast Cremation & Burial Services, the cremains likely will be provided in a plastic bag inside another container meant to be temporary. This commonly is all the family wants if they plan to distribute the ashes.
