Work to protect children from risks of poisoning to be completed before schools open

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Workers have started decontaminating schools in Paris that were found to have unsafe levels of lead following the blaze at the Notre Dame Cathedral, as part of efforts to protect children from risks of poisoning.

Notre Dame fire: activists launch lawsuit over 'toxic fallout' Read more

Authorities in the French capital ordered a deep clean at schools near the cathedral last month. The decontamination work is expected to be completed before students go back to school in September.

At St Benoit nursery and primary school, a few hundred metres away from Notre Dame, workers wearing full protective gear were cleaning up the playground on Thursday.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Workers at the St Benoit elementary school in Paris. Photograph: Christophe Petit-Tesson/EPA

Hundreds of tonnes of lead in the cathedral spire and roof melted in the fire on 15 April, dispersing particles into the air that settled on streets and buildings in surrounding neighbourhoods.

Lead removal work at the cathedral itself will resume next week, this time with stricter safety procedures. Authorities had to suspend operations last month following pressure from labour inspectors concerned about the health risks facing workers.