The Lead Content in Soil Near Notre Dame after the Fire Is 65 Times Higher than the Reference Value

Image Source: CNN

The fire at Notre Dame in April not only caused serious damage to the world-famous building, but also left a threat to human health. Local police warned that the roof of the church melted by the fire left an extremely high level of lead in the square in front of Notre Dame and on the surrounding roads, which is 32 to 65 times higher than the recommended safety limit, but they also insisted that there is currently no danger of inhaling toxic substances through the air.

According to reports from CNN and other media, the Paris police said in a statement issued on the 9th that after the fire, the air environment outside the Notre Dame did not detect the risk of inhaling lead, but there was indeed lead dust around the Notre Dame.

At present, the square of the Notre Dame is still closed, and the lead content here is 32 to 65 times higher than the safety limit of 0.3 g per kg of soil recommended by the French health authorities. The statement also mentioned that "the content of lead is very high, about 10 to 20 grams per kilogram of soil."

Police warned that children under the age of 6 and pregnant women are most likely to be poisoned by multiple intakes of lead. They advised people near the area to wash their hands often. Local residents were also told to wipe and clean their apartment with wet mops and rags.

Robin Hood, a French environmental group, has pointed out that at least 300 tons of lead at the top of the church and the minaret of Notre Dame are melted at high temperatures. They called the church "like an industrial wasteland" and called on the French authorities to treat the resulting large amount of rubble, ash and wastewater.

On the evening of April 15 local time, the Paris landmark building of Notre Dame de Paris suffered a fire and the entire building was damaged. Standing on the west island of the Seine, Notre Dame de Paris, with a history of 850 years, is one of the most representative cultural relics in France and has been listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The total height of the Notre Dame building is more than 130 meters. It is the first completely Gothic church in European history. It is of epoch-making significance and is also the most representative monument, tourist attraction and religious place in Paris. This Gothic church is also famous for the "Notre Dame de Paris", written by the French writer Hugo.

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