“Come on, come on!” » Right hook, and the shot hits the mark on the small football field in the city of Franc-Moisin in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) this Sunday. But a few meters away, there is no question of playing: barriers have been deployed in the children's square. A « flash info » was also posted by the City: it suggests that children and pregnant women take a blood test “to measure the concentration of lead in the blood and prevent any risk of lead poisoning”.
As part of the neighborhood's urban renovation work, deep soil analyzes were carried out in September within the Descartes and Rodin-Renoir school groups, revealing, according to the regional health agency (ARS), “concentrations lead levels higher than expected. Additional analyzes on the “surface layers of the earth of the different places where children play” were carried out.
The ARS revealed the results on Friday November 29. And they are reassuring regarding school groups where lead concentration levels do not exceed the “rapid action thresholds”, those where a substance is well above the alert threshold. This is, however, the case for the playground where the agency therefore recommends “closing bare or grassy areas (…), cleaning the coated surfaces and covering the existing soil”. According to the City, all public spaces in Franc-Moisin will be reclassified “by 2029-2030”.
This Sunday, a couple and their four-year-old daughter passed right by the square and discovered the little note. “Does that mean she can’t play anymore?” Should you be careful? asks the mother. We're going to talk to the school principal about it tomorrow to see what needs to be done. »
For its part, the City indicates that it “will facilitate support for families for this screening in conjunction with its health partners”. If it wishes to apply the precautionary principle, the municipality does not wish to alarm families. “We hear the concerns but we must understand that not all residents are part of the public at risk. And it is not a question of contamination in the air throughout the district, underlines the first deputy in charge of Health, Katy Bontinck. Here, these are children under 7 years old who frequent the square frequently, with the habit of scratching the earth and then ingesting it. »
She recalls that there have been “no alerts concerning children in the neighborhood who may have been affected by lead poisoning for thirty years,” she continues. The ARS recalls that exposure to lead can occur “through involuntary ingestion of soil. While playing, particles are deposited on children's hands, which they may then bring to their mouths. Lead poisoning can cause various disorders: language, behavior, learning, slowed growth or even motor difficulties.
