Massive quantities of the toxic substance, which was present in the cathedral’s spire and roof, are said to have been dispersed into the air and deposited on the ground. Environmental groups in France have banded together with a top labor union to demand that the Notre Dame be covered and sealed while lead concerns are addressed.

“The 440 tonnes of lead that went up in smoke during the fire represent more than four times the annual lead emissions in the atmosphere for all of France,” said Annie Thébaud-Mony, a researcher and spokesperson for the environmental health group Association Henri Pézerat during a press conference outside the 850-year-old cathedral.

Lead is a neurotoxin, and its effects include decreased intellectual capacity in children, male fertility, and transmission to new generations. It’s stored in the bones for decades, too, and can be released back into the bloodstream during pregnancy, greatly endangering the fetus.

The proposed process would involve enveloping the entire building in airtight plastic sheeting draped over a metal scaffolding, which would drop the air pressure within the tent to keep lead particles from leaking inside while decontamination work is carried out.

Under pressure from the groups, the City of Paris has temporarily paused decontamination work to do an assessment of the cathedral. It was initially said that work would resume this week, but even that start date has now been postponed while more drastic decontamination measures are considered — despite Deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire’s insistence that there is no risk around the damaged landmark.

Some of the techniques that could be used include spreading a gel on the ground that absorbs the lead, which has to sit for three days before it’s removed, or using high-pressure water jets with chemical agents to decontaminate the soil.

At the end of July, two schools southwest of the cathedral, which were downwind of the fire, were closed over lead fears. About 175 children were tested, and so far, two have been found to have high levels of lead in their blood, while another 16 are considered borderline and require monitoring.

Workers, police officers, firefighters, street cleaners, and staff at the hotel across the street are also at risk, says Benoit Martin, leader of the Paris CGT Union. He urges all responders, clean-up crews, and people who live and work nearby to get blood tests.

“If the calendar for Notre-Dame’s reconstruction is delayed a few months, that isn’t a problem to us,” Martin said. “What’s important to us isn’t the calendar some people want to go quickly. One has to take the time to treat the problems one after the other: contain, decontaminate, rebuild.”

Gregoire says the sites will be “rigorously cleaned” before the school year starts in September, and that children will only be allowed to return if the schools are deemed safe by health authorities. Still, he rejected the idea of containing the cathedral in plastic, calling it unnecessary.

The public can view updates on lead test results at the City of Paris website.

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Some of these concepts are presented as serious options, while others — including a transformation into a multi-story parking garage — are more tongue-in-cheek. “The Pool” by Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) probably falls somewhere in the middle of those extremes.

That’s not to say that installing a rooftop pool across the entirety of the cathedral’s roof isn’t absolutely absurd. Architectural purists in particular will undoubtedly loathe the idea, as will those who attend religious services at the cathedral (though it appears that UMA would keep the interiors exactly as they were before the fire). But as far as swimming pools go, this one would be undeniably epic. Can you imagine splashing around up there, gazing at centuries-old Gothic architecture and views of the entire city?

The Stockholm-based firm explains that their concept pays homage to the cathedral’s status as a landmark for the city and the sense that it belongs to the people and should serve their needs.

“Most proposals that we have seen put way too much focus and effort on the spire; a rather recent addition built in the 19th-century renovation,” they explain. “We think that the cathedral looks much better without both the spire and the led-clad roof. Instead we let the bell towers, the flying buttresses, and the rose windows do the talking. Given that we’re in the epicenter of Paris, the world’s cultural capital and a city filled with joie de vivre, [we’re] not planning on rebuilding the roof as it was.”

“Instead we are proposing a meditative public space; a complementary spatial experience to the building with unmatched views over Paris…the spire is gone, but the twelve statues of the apostles that were put away during the restoration and managed to escape the fire are once again back at the roof, now as guardians around a large public pool that occupies the whole roof. Maybe the pool will be replaced in a hundred years or so, becoming another layer of great stories for the future.”

Are Ulf Mejergren Architects really serious about their proposal? Probably not, but it was a clever bit of marketing for their own firm, and a successful one at that. Founded in 2014 by Ulf Mejergren, UMA is known for creative, visually striking projects that bring a sense of playfulness to urban spaces, like a study retreat made entirely from trained trees and another oversized infinity pool, this one envisioned for the Stockholm waterfront.

While President Macron announced a five-year timeline for the rebuilding of Notre Dame, heritage experts say that plan is not realistic due to the special care that will be needed to preserve and restore many of the cathedral’s original elements. There’s also likely to be a spirited public debate over whether France should go with a traditional restoration that stays true to the original or consider an adaptation that reflects all the structure has been through.

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Lost to a devastating fire, the iconic spire of the Notre Dame Cathedral can never be recaptured exactly as it once was — nor can any other damaged parts of the 856-year-old structure. Built over a period of nearly 200 years beginning in the middle of the 12th century, Notre Dame represents countless hours of skilled labor, and the forests that supplied its massive old growth oak frame are long gone. Felled sometime between 1160 and 1170 and coming from trees thought to be up to 400 years old at the time, these timber beams simply can’t be replaced with trees from today’s forests, which are much younger and smaller.

But long before the fire broke out, Notre Dame already represented how even our oldest and most significant architecture can evolve over time: its 300-foot spire was only added in the mid-19th century during a major restoration project by architect Eugéne Viollet-le-Duc. This spirit of adaptation and survival will likely guide many of the proposals to revamp the cathedral, as President Emmanuel Macron has promised the nation of France that Notre Dame will be rebuilt “more beautiful than before” within five years’ time.

Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced a competition to reconstruct Notre Dame almost as soon as the blaze was extinguished, telling reporters that the building will receive “a spire suited to the techniques and challenges of our time.”

“The international competition will allow us to ask the question of whether we should even recreate the spire as it was conceived by Viollet-le-Duc,” says Philippe. “Or, as is often the case in the evolution of heritage, whether we should endow Notre Dame with a new spire. This is obviously a huge challenge, a historic responsibility.”

Preserving the remaining portions of the cathedral will be a challenge, as the Paris fire service has reported that many elements, including the gables that hold the building’s renowned rose windows up, are “no longer supported by the frame.” A new design will have to find a way to strengthen this frame without the use of old-growth wood.

Architects have noted three main areas of damage, including the hole where the spire once stood, the transept, and the vault of the north transept. To make matters even more complicated, the wooden structures that previously supported the ceiling are waterlogged from efforts to stop the fire, and 210 tons of melted lead from the roof’s shingles poured into the cathedral’s interior, causing additional damage. While most of the stone structure was saved, much of it remains dangerously unstable.

In light of all this, any calls to recreate Notre Dame as a true replica of its former self may not be entirely realistic, reigniting a common debate around efforts to rebuild historic structures. Should architects use new technologies to reproduce the cathedral as faithfully as possible, or come up with a new design that honors its past while acknowledging what it’s been through, potentially incorporating a few contemporary elements? It will be interesting to see what architects entering the competition come up with, and how the public will react to their ideas.

Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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