Paris (AFP)
A third case of child with too much blood lead was announced Wednesday, "a priori" unrelated to the fire of Notre Dame, while the mayor of Paris ensures that "nothing justifies" to postpone the return school.
In total, about 260 children in the districts near the cathedral have achieved blood lead levels (blood lead levels) since the April 15 fire, which melted several hundred tonnes of this metal. in the frame of the Gothic monument, say the health authorities, interviewed by AFP.
Among the new tests conducted in August, "a case with 52" micrograms of lead per liter of blood, just above the threshold for mandatory reporting of lead poisoning (50), was detected, said Aurélien Rousseau, chief executive of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Ile-de-France.
But "the environmental investigation has shown that exposure (lead, Editor's note) was a priori home of this child", not in his school, he added.
A first case of a child contaminated with lead had been reported at the beginning of the summer but again, the source of exposure proved to be unrelated to the Notre-Dame fire.
In contrast, for a second child measured above this threshold, at 58μg / l, a case unveiled on August 6, the survey found "low sources of contamination in the home and moderate in the school" said Aurélien Rousseau. It is "possible that it comes from school", he acknowledged, warning however that "even if it is school, it is not sure that (contamination) comes from Notre-Dame" but, for example, pre-existing soil pollution.
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This case concerns a child attending primary school in a school group located rue Saint-Benoît, closed at the end of July because of a high concentration of lead in outdoor courts, higher than 7,000 μg / m².
This school group benefited from "thorough decontamination" during the summer, including the uprooting and the complete replacement of the playgrounds.
The ARS will publish at the beginning of September a complete review of the new blood lead levels carried out in Paris in August.
Of the 164 children tested at the end of July, apart from two schoolchildren exceeding 50 μg / l, 16 were above the "vigilance threshold", set at 25 μg / l.
In schools, following the clean-ups carried out this summer, "all the results that are calculated comply with the reference values set by the health authorities," said the first deputy mayor of Paris Emmanuel Grégoire, during a press conference Wednesday.
"If, in agreement with the LRA, we normally open schools Monday, it is because we consider that all risk is lifted," he said.
"We have cleaned, decontaminated (...) all that is childcare in the sector concerned," namely nurseries, schools, playgrounds, libraries, enumerated the assistant health Anne Souyris.
More "cautious", the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer said on France Inter "quite optimistic" about a reopening of schools on the scheduled date, refusing however to "say something decided now" .
A family has also sued the private school Sainte-Clotilde (7th district), to request a diagnosis on the pollution of the establishment and, if necessary, remediation measures.
During the hearing Wednesday, the lawyer of the Diocesan Directorate of Catholic Education explained that, following a diagnosis (out of the 24 samples taken, three exceeded 70 μg / m²), cleaning measures were in progress.
Paris City Hall on Wednesday reminded that private institutions were under the jurisdiction of the rectorate and authorities concerned (diocese, for example).
Signage informing the inhabitants of this pollution and the hygiene recommendations to be observed will be put in place. These areas are not yet all inaccessible "but they will be," promised Emmanuel Grégoire.
© 2019 AFP