OH yes, the body, except bones, would completely decompose. A lot of the bacterial is already there in the intestines and there are all kinds of enzymes there that would begin the process. Next the anaerobic bacterial will kit in and the pressure increase from the gas created will increase the heat and pressure. The gas should shore up the structure if it is small, but if Jimmy is in the support column for Riverfront Stadium, then he probably would have little affect on the structure. Chuck Brummer -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Bauer (Venture-USA) [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2004 10:12 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] NTC: Friday type question Here is a question to ponder over for this Friday type day. Yes, Jimmy Hoffa was in the discussion. If a human body was to be placed in a bed of curing concrete, would the body decompose? If the entire body is encased in the middle of said concrete that is say 4 sq ft thick on all sides, would there be any microscopic deterioration or would the little critters still infiltrate and do there "thing"? This was just a casual discussion amongst co-workers so I thought it would be a good Friday question. Any takers? Oh, if the body did fully decompose, would the structural integrity of the concrete be affected? Thomas Bauer --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-615-7100 ext.2815 -----------------------------------------------------