Building work restarts in Paris’ fire-ravaged Notre Dame

PARIS — Work has restarted at Paris’ fire-ravaged Notre Dame cathedral after a hiatus linked to the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday morning operations began to dismantle scaffolding that was already in place before the April 2019 fire amid previous restoration efforts on the old structures.

This current phase of work has been deemed highly dangerous because the scaffolding weighs over 200 tons, and is thought to have melted together in areas because of the heat of the blaze.

Technicians will access the interior of the cathedral by rope to dismantle the 40,000 tubes, one by one. This phase is expected to last three months.

President Emmanuel Macron announced a timeline of five years for the conservation works, a figure widely deemed unrealistic.

Late last month the cathedral’s forecourt was opened up to the public for the first time since the fire.

The body overseeing the Gothic structure’s restoration issued a statement saying that the reopening was finally made possible after several deep clean operations took place to remove toxic lead dust from the large forecourt.

Dozens of tons of lead went up in flames during the fire, sending tons of poisonous lead dust onto the surrounding ground.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo joined senior clergy on a visit to the area Monday.

To protect public health, the site will continue to “be regularly cleaned and samples also taken” for monitoring and analysis.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2UpcHY8