After the fire of Notre-Dame in mid-April, environmental activists accuse the Paris authorities to have the danger with the vacant lead a cover-up and see the historical Parallels. The smell of Chernobyl wabere since the fire of Notre-Dame by French capital, said.
After the meltdown in the Soviet nuclear power plant in 1986, the French government had played down the health consequences and claimed that the radioactive cloud had made on the French border. In radioactive Chernobyl until today-cesium in French soils demonstrate.
Now, the activist group “Robin des Bois smells”, in English “Robin Hood”, the next conspiracy. Your accusation: The city authorities in Paris have spoken of the danger to health by the Notre-Dame-Brand-freed-lead small and too late responds. The environmental activists have filed suit.
Parisian children are in danger?
In fact, significant quantities of lead have been through the fire. The destroyed roof and the steeple were covered with hundreds of tonnes of lead sheet. The heat brought the heavy metal to melt and Evaporate, the lead spreads over the city.
The toxic heavy metal is detrimental to, for example, the Central nervous system and the brain, blood formation and digestion. Once in the body, it is distributed in the brain, the liver, the kidney, the bone.
Especially for Pregnant women, lead can be dangerous, because that can be difficult to cause the metal to a miscarriage. Small children are especially poisoning prone to lead, because your body four to five times as much charge of it as in the adult, estimates the world health organization WHO. In addition, children tend to put things in the mouth.
According to the WHO, there is no Lead in the blood, which can be regarded as safe. Already lower values of 50 micrograms per Liter of blood were possibly associated with reduced intelligence in children, behavioural problems and learning difficulties. Associations and trade unions called last week, even, to provide the Cathedral with a protective bell.
More than 160 children had to be examined
The discussion of lead in Europe is also still present, because since April of 2018 products with a high lead content in the EU is prohibited. The prohibition also applies to the popular lead-pouring on new year’s eve.
After the fire the lead were increased to values in the centre of Paris, in part, clearly, even schools and kindergartens were affected, reported the platform to the “media part”. Nevertheless, the authorities had taken only weeks after the fire, samples of the ten affected schools and nurseries within a radius of 500 meters. The authorities reject the accusations.
The blood of more than 160 children will now be examined on a regular basis. Six of the children, according to authorities information under special Surveillance, because in your blood, a lead content of 25 to 50 micrograms per Liter was measured.
Schools will be cleaned “thoroughly”
One of the children, exposure to lead was at the end of July, when more than 50 micrograms per Liter. It goes in a primary school that had been closed because of high lead levels in the schoolyard. According to the health authority, of doubt, is not yet explicitly clarified whether the lead is in the blood of the child in the fire was released. In the case of his sister, who goes to a Kindergarten in the same building, were measured, therefore, less than 25 micro-grams per Liter.
Outside of the 500-Meter radius of Notre Dame, there are schools that are significantly contaminated with lead. These will be cleaned up at the end of the summer holidays, “thoroughly,” said Paris’ Deputy-mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, last week.
“No danger” – not for tourists
Because of the high exposure to lead also Work on the Cathedral at the end of July had been interrupted. For the workers in the future, new safety rules should apply. Respiratory masks and white protective suits are now compulsory (for more on the reconstruction work and the construction site, read here). Once the authorities have approved the new arrangements, which should be going back to Work. In the interview, the 19 is currently. August.
The competent authorities, the risk of lead poisoning for the residents in the meantime. “All the Tests we have carried out within a radius of 500 metres of stars-lady, are negative,” said Vice-mayor Grégoire last week. There was “no danger”, not for tourists. By the Inhalation be taken, according to the competent health authority, no harmful amounts of lead. Areas with particularly high exposure are locked for the Public.
The competent Paris health authority recommends to wipe dwellings in the affected areas to wash hands, keep the nails short and not to nibble on it. In addition, toys that children put in their mouths should be washed regularly.
In summary: Since the Brand of Notre-Dame in mid-April, parts of the centre of Paris are loaded with lead, even schools and kindergartens are concerned, the now cleaned-consuming. Associations, activists and trade unions accuse the Parisian authorities, to late and to have the health risks of small talk. In the blood of a child, a lead concentration that could lead to reduced intelligence, learning difficulties and behavioural problems was found. Still, however, is not sure that the fire is the cause of the lead exposure in the child. According to the authorities, no health, there is currently a risk – not even for tourists.