Why does SECURE EMPTY TRASH take so long (several days)?

I am using OS 10.3.9. I didn't empty the trash for quite a while, and several days ago clicked SECURE EMPTY TRASH. The emptying process began but has not finished even now! Does it take THAT much longer when one uses SECURE EMPTY TRASH? I see that the little message window for Trash says:
Item to delete: 114,158 This number hasn't gone down now for several minutes.
Several times I have stopped the Empty Trash process to shut the computer down or just because I wanted to stop it, but it seem to me that after "Emptying the Trash" has been going on for so long, it ought to be finished by now. I welcome any sunlight you can shed on this. Thank you.
— Lorna in Southern California

When you choose to Secure Empty Trash, the system
must overwrite the area where those items area a
minimum of 7 times for it to be considered secure.
When you have that many files in the Trash, this can
take quite some time.
So, unless you have something that is confidential in
the Trash, your best option is to Empty Trash
normally.
Mulder
If my answer helped solve your problem, please
consider awarding some points. Why
Reward Points?
OK, and thank you. You have answered my question; I now won't be worrying that something is awfy. The Secure Empty Trash is still emptying and it is down to about 77,000 items. I have clicked the YES, MY QUESTION HAS BEEN ANSWERED button and I appreciate your reassurance.
— Lorna in Southern California

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