The work at Notre-Dame de Paris must resume Monday, August 19, after more than three weeks of interruption. The labor inspectorate gave the green light to the resumption of the worksite, interrupted since July 25, after ensuring that drastic devices (footbaths, showers, disposable outfits, strict protocols for entry and exit of the site with badges ...) have been put in place.
The aim is to guarantee the safety of the personnel working in the building and to prevent the dispersion of lead dust out of the building site, hermetically sealed.
>> To see: "Lead pollution of Notre-Dame: beginning of the decontamination operation"
The work is intended to place hangers under the flying buttresses, install temporary ceilings below and above the vault (to be able to control and clear the rubble), dismantle the scaffolding, built around the boom , which was soldered by the fire. All this avoiding any falling rocks or imbalance that would damage the Gothic structure.
At the end of the complex and long consolidation phase, the first restoration works - the spire, the roof, the frame and 15% of the vault are to be rebuilt - will not begin until the first half of 2020.
It remains to define the nature of the restoration work, the materials, the companies selected, the reconstruction or not of the identical arrow and the architectural competition that must determine it, the construction of an ephemeral cathedral on the forecourt for the faithful and tourists, etc.
"Imperious necessity" to reopen the building site
Wednesday, the Ministry of Culture had deemed it "imperative necessity" the reopening of the building by putting forward a potential risk of collapse of the building. "The building is still subject to a peril of the prefect of police, dated April 17, and new rock falls from the vaults of the nave have very recently occurred following the episode of heat wave" , said the ministry.
The gigantic construction site was halted on 25 July on the instructions of the labor inspectorate because of the risk of lead contamination.
>> To read: Fire of Notre-Dame: "No immediate instructions to avoid lead contamination"
"All the state services involved in the project have made health workers on this site a top priority, taking precedence over any other consideration," said the Ministry of Culture.
"The recommendations of the labor inspectorate have already been largely taken into account by the contracting authority and will be also throughout the duration of the operation of conservation and restoration," said the ministry, in response to concerns persistently expressed by the associations.
Complaint against X Robin des Bois Association
The fire that partially ravaged Notre Dame on April 15 melted several hundred tons of lead, some of which evaporated into particles in the atmosphere and in the soil.
>> To see: The heat wave weakens a little more Notre-Dame-de-Paris
Since the incident, high levels of lead concentration, to which children are particularly exposed, have been noted around the building. A decontamination of the grounds around the cathedral was launched on August 13th.
Chronic exposure to too high levels of lead, by inhalation or ingestion, can lead to digestive disorders, impaired kidney function, nervous system damage or reproductive abnormalities.
At the end of July, the Paris public prosecutor's office was seized by the Robin des Bois association of a complaint against X for "deliberately endangering others and not providing assistance to anyone in danger". The association criticizes the administrative authorities for not organizing the containment of local residents and workers, as well as a lack of information on the toxic fallout. The complaint was still being analyzed in mid-August by the public health section of the prosecutor's office, according to a judicial source.
With AFP