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

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.

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

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

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 labor inspectors concerned about the health risks facing workers.