European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Strasbourg y Ca thedral is among a those threatened. Threatens France s gothic masterpieces r s damaged statues on the Cathedral at  Patrick Mcdowell associated press the proud Cathedral at Rouen France that was immortalized by Claude Monet survived bombs and fire in world a ii Only to face a slow death from acid rain Quot Monet painted the Cathedral As if it were melting Quot Yves Lescroart said. Quot now it really . As curator of historical monuments in upper Normandy Lescroart Heads an ambitious new project to halt the steady disintegration of the Cathedral s Western facade. ,. Monet father of the impressionist Art movement used. Notre Dame de Rouen As a Model for about to Tat his Best known paintings nearly 00 years ago. 1 he v  gothic facade bathed  Light and color at various times of Day. 1 he Cathedral s natural. Color at the time was a Light Brown. The facade has been blackened by decades of exposure to some of France s worst Industrial pollution aggravated by constant rainfall and prevailing Westerly winds. A what once were distinct noses and Eves on its statues of biblical figures have become puddles of featureless Stone a scaffolding rings the portals to Ink h lulling pieces. Quot it s the same problem All Over Northern France Quot Lescroart said. Quot after the War came thei chemical Var Quot. Some of France s greatest cathedrals a at reims Chartres Beauvais and Strasbourg a lie in the postwar. Industrial Belt stretching from Normandy to the German a a. Border. A. A. All show signs of damage from two generations of. Pollution which is slowly being reversed by factory modernization and More stringent controls. None has been scarred so badly As notre Dame do a Rouen which sits in a Valley of the Seine River near More. Than 60 factories chemical plants and Oil refineries smokestacks belch 100 tons of Fulfur a Day into the Damp atmosphere Between Rouen and be Havre the nearby port in 1074, the total was twice that. Frequent Rains bring the pollution Down on the Cathedral built of a soft yellow regional Stone favored by medieval  a a a a of All the Walls and towers the Western facade is the most vulnerable. It lies directly in the unsheltered path of Westerly winds that blow pollution and acid rain from be Havre and Rouen  suburb of Lacouronne. Sul uric acid clings to the delicate stonework forming a Black stain that gradually spreads and penetrates deeper into the Stone exploding it the Rev. Jean Larcher Abbot of the Cathedral demonstrates the results to visitors by lightly tracing an Index Finger across a Stone buttressing the 495-foot spire second highest in France after Beauvais. Quot look How tender the Stone is Quot he said holding up a Finger covered in Chalky White powder. Agenal rally lakes its toll on Stone but War and pollution have hastened the process in Rouen and elsewhere. Larcher 57, was a boy when British bombers missed their military targets the night of april 19,1944, and dropped seven bombs in and around the Cathedral. Muc h of the Southern Wall crumpled and one of the four pillars holding up the spire collapsed. The spire itself the work of a 19th Century restoration remained standing. A two wartime fires in the neighbourhood added to the damage blackening most the St. Romain s Tower the oldest.  the Structure. Forty five years later the world War ii damage has been repaired and Lescroart and architect Michel Lanton Are turning their attention to Monet a facade. The five year restoration project should begin this Spring. Archaeologists will spend the first year gently spraying water on the facade with the pressure of a Light drizzle to loosen stains and neutralize acids. Scientists will test the Stone c chemically to find How deeply  has penetrated and whether any Micro organisms have become imbedded. 1 1 after the spraying workers will Brush off As much of the Lack stain As possible and sea the cleansed Stone with protective1 agents. Stonework that cannot be saved will be / replaced. A. A. Most of the statues will be taken to a museum next door and be replaced by  Silicon and powdered Rock. Quot cathedrals Are permanent workshops Quot said architect. Yves Loiret. Quot there is always scaffolding around them and from accounts we be read there always has  Loiret is working on the Cathedral at reims in the Champagne Region where the culture ministry has begun a program to increase Public participation in saving historic. Monuments. Restoring Cathedra is is a costly process and traditionally has been solely the government s responsibility. The budget for Rouen alone last year was $1.4 million. The culture ministry wants communities to pay about 40 percent of the Cost. Loiret Hopes the reims City count i will ban cars from the Cathedral area. He said their noise and exhaust a emissions damage Stone. A a cathedrals gel old Quot Loiret said. Quot they an like people they re not eternal. Sooner or Laier the Stone weakens. Its  january 31, 99 7 stripes Magazine