After the Notre Dame fire in April spewed tons of toxic lead dust into the atmosphere, Paris authorities couldn't figure out how dangerous that was.
It took a blaze that nearly destroyed Paris’ most famous cathedral to expose a gap in global safety regulations for lead, a toxic building material found across many historic cities.
After 250 tons of lead on Notre Dame’s spire and roof was engulfed in flames in central Paris on April 15 and authorities alerted Parisians to an environmental health risk, they were forced to cobble together disparate and incomplete research to set a makeshift safety level in an attempt to reassure the public.
On July 18 — three months after the inferno — Paris’ Regional Health Agency said it designated 4,180 micrograms per square yard as a concerning level for lead dust in public spaces. It also acknowledged there was an “absence of regulatory thresholds ... regarding the presence of lead in dust deposited on roads.”
Lead is ubiquitous in Paris’ 19th century architecture — in roofs, gilded balconies, floors and terraces — and not just in its most famous cathedral. In 1853, Napoleon III chose Baron Haussmann to carry out a near-total renovation of Parisian boulevards and parks in an era that used lead prolifically — designs that still dominate the city.
“Paris is a beautifully preserved city,” Souyris said. “But we realize we have also beautifully preserved its lead.”
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No Christmas Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral for first time in 200 yearsFrance's historic Notre Dame Cathedral will be dark and empty on Christmas for the first time in more than 200 years due to the devastating fire in April.
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Notre Dame fire wakes the world up to dangers of lead dustIt took a blaze that nearly destroyed Paris’ most famous cathedral to reveal a gap in global safety regulations for lead, a toxic building material found across many historic cities. After the Notre Dame fire in April spewed dozens of tons of toxic lead-dust into the atmosphere in just a few hours,
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Notre Dame fire wakes the world up to dangers of lead dustThe blaze that nearly destroyed Paris’ most famous cathedral has revealed a gap in global safety regulations for lead dust. Lead is a toxic building material in many historic cities.
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Notre Dame fire highlights global danger of lead dustThe regulatory gap for lead dust became impossible to ignore as it created a toxic film on the cobblestones of Paris’ Ile-de-la-Cite following the fire.
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Investigators Trace Cause Of Notre Dame Fire To Cathedral’s Outdated 12th-Century Electrical SystemPARIS—Saying the devastation could perhaps have been avoided with some routine upgrades to modern 200-amp service, investigators announced Wednesday they have traced the cause of the Notre Dame fire to the cathedral’s archaic electrical system, which dates back to the 12th century. “In our examination of the wreckage, we discovered that some of the circuit breakers and sockets hadn’t been updated since the reign of Louis XII,” said lead investigator Jean-Luc Marchand, explaining that many of the fuses from the time of the cathedral’s construction were made of solid oak, while much of the wiring consisted of twisted cords of straw. “The light bulbs we found were so incredibly antiquated that their filaments were made of wool strips dipped in kerosene or whale oil. To make matters worse, Notre Dame’s entire electrical system was hooked into the power company’s transformer on the pole outside with a single strand of hemp twine. It’s a miracle the damage wasn’t worse.” Marchand went on to add that the fire likely started due to a malfunction from one of the rectory’s 14th-century wicker space heaters.
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