Work resumes on Notre Dame after fire cleanup delay
PARIS — Specialists shoring up firedamaged Notre Dame Cathedral returned Monday to the Paris site for the first time in nearly a month, this time wearing disposable clothing and other protective gear after a delay prompted by fears of lead contamination.
Meanwhile, cleanup teams swept, sprayed and vacuumed neighboring streets Monday to scrub away any lead left over from the April blaze that decimated Notre Dame’s roof and toppled its spire. Toxic dust spewed into the air as hundreds of tons of lead melted in the fire.
At the cathedral itself, activity resumed under strict new leadprotection measures for the stonemasons, cleanup workers and scientists working on the monument, according to the Culture Ministry. They include throwaway fullbody clothing, obligatory showers and a new decontamination zone to ensure that no one tracks pollution outside the site.
The workers are clearing out hazardous debris and studying and consolidating the medieval monument — a crucial first step to prepare the fragile cathedral for a yearslong reconstruction effort.
But even this first step is taking longer than expected because of lead worries.
Some environmental activists and residents say French authorities underplayed the lead poisoning risks in the aftermath of the blaze.
Under pressure from labor inspectors, the Paris regional administration ordered the work halted in July pending new workerprotection measures.
Other leadprevention operations are also under way in the area around Notre Dame. Experts are carrying out a deep cleaning of neighborhood schools and are spraying chemical agents and vacuuming surrounding streets to remove any residual lead.
The regional health authority said last month that the main lead risk was inside the cathedral itself and its forecourt, and that no dangerous lead levels had been registered since the fire in the surrounding streets, where tourists and residents circulate.