Neighbours of the fire-stricken Notre Dame Cathedral should use wet wipes to clean surfaces at home or the office where lead-laden dust from the blaze may have settled, Paris police advised on Saturday.
Tests have shown that the devastating April 15 fire released particles of the toxic metal which had been present in the frame of the church and its now-levelled spire, it said in a statement.
The threat was limited, the police noted, as lead poisoning usually builds up over years of exposure. There have been no reports of acute lead poisoning since the inferno that destroyed the roof of the 850-year-old landmark. Public areas that may pose a lead exposure risk, such as the gardens around the cathedral, have been closed and will not be reopened until lead levels are back to normal, the police added.
"The cathedral has been reduced to the state of toxic waste," the association said in a statement, urging authorities to detoxify the tons of rubble, ash and wastewater produced in the disaster.
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