Land Use for Critical Cemeteries in Central Ecuador: History
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Subjects: Water Resources | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Contributor:
Eduardo Mayorga-Llerena

Cemeteries are sites for the final disposal of human bodies that constitute a source of contamination of soil and water as a result of the cadaveric decomposition generated. In addition, land use conflicts were encountered in the cemetery grounds. It is concluded that the existing cemeteries should be subjected to more detailed environmental analysis and subsequently should be treated as security landfills in the closure and post-closure stage. Also, it has been concluded that the cemeteries should not be located in urban or peri-urban areas.

  • cemeteries
  • polluted environment
  • cadaveric decomposition
  • Ecuador

1. Introduction

Once a person dies, their body may become a potential source of contamination due to migrating leachates generated by decomposition. This becomes even more evident when the body is buried in a cemetery within an unregulated or critical location, often being close to water fountains [1][2]. Due to the sanitary problems that caused the exhumation of corpses inside churches at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the creation of cemeteries far from the urban limits of the capitals began [3]. Globally, a disturbing reality is being experienced due to rapid urbanization and environmental degradation in urban and rural areas [4][5][6]. As the urban sprawl increases, the disposal of human bodies becomes a critical environmental problem [7][8][9] as the cemetery is the main funerary form still currently used in the world [10]. However, the previous treatment of human corpses varies according to the beliefs and idiosyncrasies of each region or state, which implies a variety of different environmental effects [11].
The efficient management of cemeteries is a key element to control environmental, social and also ecological impacts [12][13]. Incompatible land uses are a major source of potential degradation at urban level. The implementation of cemeteries in residential areas is often rejected by the resident population [14][15]. However, the areas near the cemeteries have been inhabited, becoming residential due to urban sprawl [16][17]. Thus, these resting places imply a long-term occupation of quality soils that are a basic natural resource. Unsustainability is beginning to be felt due to the exponential increase in the human population [9][18]. The implementation of cemeteries has the potential to impact health and is capable of affecting suburban areas. Therefore, preventive measures and even mitigation may be necessary [19]. The inappropriate location of cemeteries causes problems and disagreements such as bad odor, risk of disease, and aesthetic impact, among others [16]. 
It takes 15 to 25 years for a human corpse to reach ideal or complete decomposition [20]. The decomposition rate of buried corpses is highly dependent on burial depth and ambient temperatures [21]. When the ambient temperature is between 16 and 20 °C the decomposition of the bodies will be accelerated, while with low temperatures, −5 to 6 °C, the bodies will take longer to decompose [22]. Furthermore, soil moisture influences decomposition due to its effect on soil microbial activity, since microorganisms are the primary decomposers in soils [23]. The human body is a source of organic matter that, being in suitable environmental conditions and with the influence of scavengers, insects and decomposing microorganisms, the disintegration process could be accelerated to an estimated time of two to five years [24][25]. The decomposition of inhumed bodies results in leachates, typically composed of water, proteins, fats, mineral salts, and carbohydrates, and as they are not retained by vegetation they will infiltrate and are able to generate eutrophication [26][27], in addition to possible microbial pathogens, i.e., bacteria and viruses [28]. 

2. The Local Case of Ecuador

Of the 72 cemeteries located in Central Ecuador, 32 were identified as poorly located as the result of a spatial analysis [29]. Hydrography criteria, soil texture, population density, slope, green areas, distance to the historic center, precipitation and temperature were introduced in a subsequent analysis, determining that there is a possibility of environmental contamination due to the equivocal location of nine cemeteries [30]. In the latter, classified as potentially polluting, a field study was performed that included determination of the water table, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), electrical conductivity, pH and temperature, furthermore, to the addition of variables such as distance to the body of water, type of soil, number of graves, age of the cemetery and geological fault. Therefore, it was concluded that the potential that these nine (9) graveyards are very likely sources of environmental contamination, they also lacked any completely adequate areas for the location of cemeteries [11].

3. Study Area

The study area focused on the cemeteries located in the central highlands of Ecuador, within the province of Pichincha. This area was selected as it is adjacent to Quito, the capital of the Republic of Ecuador, which has the second highest population density in the country [31]. There have been four specific cemeteries within three different cantons, which are particularly the cemeteries of: 1. Nanegal; 2. Chillogallo; 3. Pintag; and 4. Cutuglagua (Figure 1).

Sustainability 14 01577 g001

Figure 1. Inlet illustrates position of study area within Ecuador and main map locates the studied cemeteries as indicated in the corresponding legend.

4. Research Findings

The results of the environmental analyses obtained indicate a trend towards environmental contamination caused by cemeteries, and therefore, all existing or planned cemeteries must have a radial buffer zone with native vegetation of the place; the same one that retains the pollutants of the infiltrated leachates. The radius of the buffer zone will depend on the needs of the sector [32][33][34]. Cemeteries that have critical characteristics [29] with a notable tendency for contamination or saturation, and those located in urban or residential sectors that do not have a buffer zone should be treated as a security landfill in the closure phase. Furthermore, post-closure protocols [35] should be applied with the environmental monitoring required by this type of establishment [36]. The use of land equipment may only be close to the cemetery in the event of the existence of the buffer zone or, failing that, being the buffer zone as long as it has the necessary amount and species of vegetation to avoid affecting the health of the population or the environmental quality of the sector. Cemeteries should not be implemented in urban or peri-urban areas [37]. The creation and use of sustainable alternatives such as green cemeteries [38], which can be located in multifunctional land uses [39], should be promoted. The circular economy can be incurred by using the skeleton of tombs that have been abandoned for more than ten years in the industry as a source of catalyst providing economic benefits and environmental protection, thus reducing dependence on non-renewable natural resources [40].

5. Conclusions

The values obtained in the physicochemical analyses of soil and water reveal that the cemeteries analyzed here, except Cutuglagua, could be potential sources of environmental contamination. Therefore, a more exhaustive analysis of environmental parameters would be required and, if contamination is confirmed, they should be treated as landfills in closure and post-closure stages. For the construction of new cemeteries, it must be ensured that environmental, territorial, and geographical criteria are met for proper implementation.
Land uses change according to the development of the population in conjunction with urban sprawl, which implies that cemeteries that were once considered to be in rural areas are now in urban areas; ones that could be converted and represent a risk to the health of the inhabitants of the surrounding sectors. Cemeteries should not be implanted in urban or peri-urban areas due to the generation of conflicts in the compatibility of land use.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/su14031577

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