By Greg Grisolano

ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com

About 25 people attended a question-and-answer session Saturday for a proposed crematorium at Parker Mortuary, 1502 S. Joplin Ave.

After more than an hour’s worth of presentation and some questions from a group of neighbors who said they are opposed to the crematorium because of the possibility of harmful materials — including mercury and carbon monoxide — being expelled into the air, Parker Mortuary owner Tom Keckley urged those in attendance to avoid being swayed by “scare tactics.”

“I applaud you guys for putting so much effort into bird-dogging our operation,” Keckley said. “But the facts I looked at say you don’t need to be worried.”

But Ryan Jackson, a neighbor and local businessman, disagreed.

“Emissions are emissions,” he said. “No matter how small it is.”

Keckley said the mortuary wants to install a dual-chamber crematory, which will burn at a temperature of 1,500 degrees, and a refrigeration unit in a portion of a mostly unoccupied warehouse adjacent to the mortuary’s main building.

The reason for the crematory, Keckley said, is that the funeral home has seen a dramatic increase in the number of cremations requested by families in the last 20 years, and that the cost of operating its own crematorium versus paying a third-party would be negligible.

He opened his presentation with emissions statistics on crematories from a 1999 Environmental Protection Agency study.

According to data Keckley provided during the meeting, a crematorium’s emissions of harmful elements such as mercury and carbon monoxide are well within the safety standards set by the EPA.

Keckley said concerns about the cost of constructing a new building and paying for security were two reasons the mortuary preferred to have the crematorium on site, rather than at another location.

“We have staff here 24-7,” he said. “I don’t want to put a lot of money into a building I can’t monitor.”

When Jackson reiterated a proposed lease agreement of $1 per year for 99 years on a half-acre of land his company owns in an industrial zone near 13th Street and Maiden Lane, Keckley said no thanks.

“We couldn’t afford to do it,” Keckley said. “It’s a generous offer, but it just wouldn’t work for us.”