• Tweeter

  • republish

A view shows the damaged roof of Notre-Dame de Paris during the restoration work, three months after the fire that devastated the cathedral of Paris, July 14, 2019. REUTERS / Philippe Wojazer / File Photo

The fire at Notre Dame was a huge shock for the French. Is it also likely to result in a health crisis because of the large quantities of lead dust it has released? Associations and the CGT union fear him. The authorities, they, want to be reassuring, more than 160 children have been detected since the fire, according to a report published on Tuesday.

New lead contamination surveys around the cathedral were published on Tuesday, August 6th. The number of children screened doubled in July and now stands at 164, according to the report released Tuesday by the Regional Health Agency of Ile-de-France (ARS).

Of the new children tested, six are in the "vigilance threshold" and one exceeds the mandatory reporting threshold for lead poisoning without being able to be reliably attributed to the pollution caused by the fire. ARS.

Three schools outside this perimeter with worrying lead levels will be cleaned by the end of the month, according to the Paris City Hall. As early as this week, the depollution will also take place under the responsibility of the State, in the immediate vicinity of the building, where lead concentrations remain high.

► To read also: Lead pollution: a collective wants the containment of the Notre-Dame shipyard

No need to put Our Lady "under a bell", the operation will be done in the open air, because according to the town hall there is no vital concern. As a precaution, both the city of Paris and the Regional Health Agency encourage people living and working near the cathedral to submit to an examination to determine the blood lead level.

The residents are not worried

This potential contamination from lead dust is very dangerous for children, yet it does not seem to alarm residents.

I am more worried about Paris pollution than lead. [...] We had a mother who was worried, we had a prescription and it was a homeopathic treatment.

Reportage in the district of Notre-Dame Cathedral

Capuchin Japhet

06/08/2019 Listen

► To read also: Lead pollution in Notre-Dame: the Robin des Bois association complains