Fallout of Lead Over Paris From the 2019 Notre-Dame Cathedral Fire.

ABSTRACT: The roof and spire of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris that caught fire and collapsed on 15 April 2019 were covered with 460 t of lead (Pb). Government reports documented Pb deposition immediately downwind of the cathedral and a twentyfold increase in airborne Pb concentrations at a distance of 50 km in the aftermath. For this study, we collected 100 samples of surface soil from tree pits, parks, and other sites in all directions within 1 km of the cathedral. Concentrations of Pb measured by X-ray fluorescence range from 30 to 9,000 mg/kg across the area, with a higher proportion of elevated concentrations to the northwest of the cathedral, in the direction of the wind prevailing during the fire. By integrating these observations with a Gaussian process regression model, we estimate that the

SUBMITTER: van Geen A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8027784 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature