Loudoun Funeral Chapel to Construct Crematorium

The Town Council voted 6 to 1 on Tuesday to allow a crematorium at the , located at 158 Catoctin Circle SE.  

Owner Bill McDonough said it’s been about a year since he first expressed interest in providing the popular service on-site. Business has increased over the years, he said, including families in the area that request cremation services.

“It’s a service that we’ve offered for years but unfortunately we’ve relied on outside contractors to handle the cremation for us,” McDonough said. "There’s no funeral home in Loudoun County with a crematory. Of course there’s certain religions and feelings from the general public that they would prefer to use a funeral home that would handle the cremation on their own and not rely on outside contractors.”

The crematorium would be part of a small addition, which would be built towards the backside of the existing building. Cremation services could be available as soon as four months, McDonough said.

"I think it will be a great benefit to the chapel as well as the Town of Leesburg,” McDonough said. The closest crematory is in Fairfax County or all the way over in Fauquier County.

Gary Dickens spoke on behalf of whose number one priority is serving those who grieve.

“We’ve watched the number of cremations go up since we’ve been there,” Dickens said. “When I saw that McDonough was applying for this I just got very, very excited. As Jerry’s Flowers and Gifts we fully support this.”

Mayor Kristen Umstattd said that although she has the utmost respect for McDonough and Dickens, she was “nervous that crematoriums are becoming a major producer of mercury in the air.”

“Enough concerns have been raised about the mercury load that I’m uncomfortable supporting it,” she said.

According to documents, the source of mercury emissions from crematoriums is silver amalgam dental fillings. The fillings contain mercury alloys that volatilize during the cremation process and may be deposited locally.

While scientific studies have generally shown an increase in mercury levels downwind of crematoriums, town staff could not find any study that demonstrated levels to be near or above regulated levels.

Senior Planner Irish Grandfield said Tuesday that all emission including mercury and dioxin would be at levels well below the regulated threshold.  

The Town Council approved the resolution 6 to 1 with Umstattd dissenting.