North Carolina Funeral Law Practice Exam

What is the purpose of a crematory's processor unit?

1. To initiate the cremation process

2. To maintain temperature during cremation

3. To pulverize cremated remains

4. To contain ashes until burial

The correct answer is: To pulverize cremated remains

The purpose of a crematory's processor unit is to pulverize cremated remains. After the cremation process, larger bone fragments and other materials may remain. The processor unit breaks these remnants down into a finer, more uniform consistency, ensuring that the final product, often referred to as ashes or cremains, is suitable for placement in an urn or for scattering. This step is essential for providing families with a manageable amount of remains that they can handle and choose to memorialize in various ways. The initiation of the cremation process and maintaining temperature are critical functions of the overall cremation machinery, but they are not the specific role of the processor unit. The containment of ashes until burial is related to the storage or handling processes after the cremation and pulverization have occurred. Thus, the processor unit's primary function is indeed the pulverization of cremated remains, making the provided answer accurate.