What happens when people die with metal in or on them?

Favrion@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 91 points –

Like if they die with braces, a metal retainer, earrings, a gold tooth, a pacemaker, et cetera.

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The metal doesn't change. It's still there since it doesn't rely on the host living for existence.

I love how you get downvoted. The fuck is wrong with people here? So much better than Reddit blablabla and then this bullshit happens so often. Why do people always have to suck so hard?

The real question is why does anyone care if a comment on a comment gets down voted. This isn't reddit where they track your karma. So who cares. Probably 30% of comments here are "why are people downvoting you" and comments like "i love all the blahblah haters commenting here, people are so fucked up" which by the time anyone reads it, the haters have been long since drowned out by the rational people. Sad waste.

Why would anyone care? Because it ruins discussion.

It is a mirror of the community here. Not more and not less.

What is wrong with people here?

I would venture to say most Lemmy users were formerly Redditors. That would likely explain the behaviour you and I see.

Because the person you replied to is acting purposely obtuse? It's clear that the OP was asking what is done with any non-organic materials that may be inside a person when they die. Are they removed? Are they left to be buried in the ground? What about cremation, do they burn the body with any of that inside? That's pretty obvious to anyone with above a 5th grade reading comprehension, so a snarky reply is unwarranted and obnoxious.

I was being a bit obtuse, but the question was worded poorly. If OP wanted to know what happens after cremation, or an autopsy, or something else like that, they should have clarified. You yourself literally came up three additional questions, all of which might apply to the original question. I just decided to answer it literally.

Thank you, exactly my point:

Nothing is clear about what OP meant. It is a very vague question. Yet here we are, you are super confident about what exactly was meant.

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By this point, Phase II will initiate as the metal bits reorganize themselves into a lining along your spine. They will take over control of your corpse for the following months, synthetically reanimating you. Nothing can stop your flesh from discolouring and rotting slowly, however. Eventually, the metal ennards will absolve themselves of your flesh vessel as it no longer suits their purposes, and control is returned to you once more; although your skin may by this point have discoloured into a shade of purple.

The spirit of comments in this community ought to be helpful to OP.

Your comment is absolutely hilarious but OP didn't come here for a laugh.

Not stupid answer :

After cremation - all metal artifacts are given back to the family should they want them.

I hope my kids take the titanium from my spine.

they better! that shit ain't cheap

Titanium scrap value is pretty low. It takes a lot of energy to recycle it so new titanium is typically used

if they do end up keeping it, there are artists metalworker, that will agree to turn things like that into custom art and things, if requested. edit:link to one: https://www.titanium-implant-jewelry.com/titanium-implant-jewelry-designs.html

There one in the netherland , I think it is, that offers the service.(they also accept and work with meral that was removed when yiu were still alive, through surgery for example). There seem to be some beautiful examples.

... So, that might be of intrest of intrsst, when writing a will, and to whomever you end up passing that metal to, as a n option, and anlther resin to hold onto those metallic artefacts and keepsakes.

Although some of models of pace maker are removed prior to cremation, as they can sort of explode at high temperatures. Everything else is burned off, dusted off and returned.

For burial, if an autopsy is required, everything on the surface is removed to prepare the body for examination, this can include medical implants and things like bone halos and cages, though that's usually only if the cage is suspected to be part of the cause of death, or the family has asked it be removed for burial.

Some things are removed for safety reasons, but for the most part it's up to the family to decide what stays on the body. We burried my cousin in all her ring splints because she had them custom designed as jewelry, and we joked that "she'd want full use of her fingers in the afterlife". But some families might ask for things to be removed post mortem because their beliefs only allow for flesh and bone to be burried.

Before the human begins to decompose, the essence of the pacemaker leaves its plastic housing (the “accidental properties” of the device) and goes to a realm outside of space and time to forever keep the pace of the Great Heart for which it was ultimately created. The human, meanwhile, is eaten by worms.

That's a delightful answer. My wife, who got a pacemaker this past spring, laughed out loud. Thank you!

So a pacemaker will keep going even if the person no longer has brain activity. So a strong magnet is swiped over the chest to turn it off. Not sure what they do with it after that, though

It's this kind of irresponsibility that leads to a zombie apocalypse.

I believe they have to remove it before burying/cremating them

My grandfather died with a bullet in his foot that had been there for about 40 years. He was cremated and there was nothing left of the bullet.

In cremation, the metal is picked up either by hand or magnets and recycled. This is because the bones need to be grinded into "ashes" and they can't do that with metal in it.

Lead melts at such a low temperature that it will vaporize long before the body is reduced to ash.

I didn't believe you. So I looked it up. I had no idea how hot cremation was. What a waste of energy.

I learned this listening to true crime podcasts. Killers often try to burn bodies but it doesn't work because you need an actual furnace to reduce a body down to ash.

There's an episode of Nathan For You where he tries to test if a pizza oven will cremate a body but he gave up after a few hours lol

It can be seen that way. Neil deGrasse Tyson agrees with you. OTOH, it’s a way to conserve cemetery space and reduce the environmental impact of graveyards.

Sure, but cremation isn't the only other alternative.

Blast my body out into the ocean and let the fish eat me

Or, I like the idea of becoming a tree, where they put you in a bag beneath a tree and plant it so the roots will absorb.. whatever is left that they possibly can, I think that's the coolest (imo) way to go and would like to somehow become a tree.. don't want to be reincarnated as an animal, nature is brutal.

Cat maybe...

*... I think that’s the coolest (imo) way to go and would like to somehow become a tree… "

trees. are. cool.( literally a and metaphorically.). Having your posymoryem body, turned into a tree, is a relly cool option, in my opinion. Good thing is that a it's pretty widely avalable and doable too, in many places. 💀🌱 🌳 🌳🌲🌳🌲🌲🌱

Heres some resources that might be helpful with planning for that tree, aka green or natural, burial, ahead of time (and ensuring that thise wishes are carried out later) , if you haven't allready: https://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/resources/green-burial/ and https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/interactive-maps.html

and to metión green burials in another jurisdiction, , http://www.naturaldeath.org.uk/index.php?page=find-a-natural-burial-site

Hopefully some of that may be helpful, or intresting. green. burials. subject.

💀🌱🌳 🌳🌲🌳🌲🌲🌱

Thanks for sharing a branch from your knowledge tree!

That was a (bad) pun, tr-hee hee!

But really, I can't wait to become a tree so I can throw apples at tin people.

An animal does not know pain until it dies since most injuries are fatal without societal support. Humans know the pain of dying and prolong it. Which is more brutal?

My pain isn't the knowledge of death, it's the experience of life and I feel like sleeping outdoors, having to kill to eat etc. Wouldn't be as pleasant of an experience as say eating a bowl of chili and watching a movie before crawling into a comfy bed

Also, when I step on my cat's foot it meows like it hurts, not sure what you're saying tbh not being snarky just confused what kind of pain do animals not experience? Depression, trauma etc?

Most injuries in the wild will lead to death quickly. Any kind of broken limb means no hunting and makes for easier prey. So not the most direct point initially, but the point was that the pain typically doesn't last long before starvation or death by a predator. So it doesn't hurt long before death comes. We drag it out as a society with medical support, familiar connections with people, and sharing news of atrocities at no benefit to us. I'm not saying one is better, I just feel one has a much shorter term of pain

I get where you're coming from but still beg to differ. Sure, the suffering of a broken leg may end sooner for an animal because death but what about the life without comfort that proceeded that energy? The savage wild where everything seems to want to murder you? Going without shelter, food etc? Meanwhile even in major poverty humans tend to have some form of shelter, some food, some support, friends, maybe benefits from the government etc.

Even people in prison have it better than animals and I'm not sure how dying faster = better life? Sure, it sucks (for some) that life is drawn out while others (especially the rich) live long happy lives enjoying every minute of it?

Not saying I don't understand where you're coming from just seems oversimplified to say they have it easier because they die faster

That's what we thought, but when we asked to keep the bullet we were told it was reduced to ash with everything else.

Where I live, removeable items like braces, jewellery, et cetera are considered 'personal effects' and will be handed over to next of kin when they claim the body for funeral arrangements. Integral things like fillings, artificial joints, etc. are generally left inside. There are cases where they have to be removed or will be left behind (eg. cremation), but they're still considered human remains and have to be disposed of properly.

There are also cases where things can't be cremated or left in the body. I'm thinking specifically about pacemakers powered by radioactive isotopes. Medical authorities will take charge of those.

What can corrode will corrode.

Gold or the peacemaker will not. They will only ever be destroyed / dissolved / ... in geological timescales. So when that part of the crust is pushed under another one. Or it is erroded away in a river. Or hot, geothermal water dissolves it. Etc.

Otherwise it will stay put and not change.

Not reallly and answer, but there is a Stephen King short story and movie where a plane goes thru a time warp, and only the people who are asleep survive. The other people are gone entirely, except for the metal things they were wearing or had in them.

It's a good one!

I'm sorry, but 763 pages is epic territory.

Indeed it is! I apologize for leaving this out, it is just the first of the four short stories; The Langoliers. Much shorter!

That book is 4 unrelated novellas in one volume, but they're referring only to The Langoliers. Assuming similar lengths for each one, we're really only talking a bit under 200 pages.

I believe that anything above 50-60 pages is no longer a short story.

How many words on the page though? I bet I could squeeze it down to 50 pages with the right font.

Depends on whether or not they know Jesus. If they know Him they go to heaven.

Unless they are a wizard, in which case Death himself must escort them to the next plane and can't just send a representative.

We'll, if the peron had access to and chose, for their future postmortem body, to undergo the disposition option of 'natural organic reduction' (also known as terramation, also known as body composting), then Ive read and heard that: any implants that contain batteries or are highly radioactive (both likely or certain to also contain metal) will be removed early on, by a professional, for safety reasons.

Other metal(, like a metal hip, or bolts,), are typically left in the body, and stay jt thought the internment ceremony, (incidentally a future customer certainly can request that a particular song or playlist be played during their internment, , and several reportedly have opted for specifically metal (genre) music to be played at this point. 🎶),

and (continuing) any metal parts then go into the pod along with the wood chips and the straw and and oxygen and everything else, they stay with the rest of the bidy the 'beehive' through the first four weeks or thereabouts, and through the peak periods of intense heat.

Then, towards the latter stages, they are eventually screened removed, using a screen. similar to that used in many other conventional composting methods. Any metal prices are returned to friends or family of they wish to keep them, or otherwise they are recycled. ♻️

The final results of the process are tested by an independent lab, for a variety of factors. One of these is heavy metal content. The results must come back, as a legislative requirement, at a heavy metal cintkentbtahtad below a specified level, before the process can finish, and the terramated remains can be returned. So far there seems to have been no issue with being below the limit.

Anyway, that seems to be the process, for those that die with metal, and who choose to have their body sent to this particular funeral services provider. (recompose). For more on that you can red more at www.recompose.life , they have a faq section.

I belive it's a similar process for other providers of n. o. r services, and(in some ways) for some alkaline hydrolisys and cremation servjices.

maybe that helps answers the question, at least in some part.