The Altrad group ensures the durability of the Eiffel Tower with Hygitec

The Altrad group, world leader in the manufacture of equipment dedicated to the construction and building market, chooses Hygitec to accompany it in complete safety in the 20th campaign to paint the Eiffel Tower.

The famous Iron Lady is getting a refurbishment in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games. It is one of the biggest projects that the Eiffel Tower has ever seen since its construction. The monument takes advantage of its 20th painting campaign to return to the original 1907 shade of “yellow-brown”. It corresponds to the color desired by Gustave Eiffel when the Tower became permanent. The color "yellow-brown" was chosen by Gustave Eiffel so that the Eiffel Tower echoes the whole of the great city of Paris, a city of limestone. It should be noted that painters still work today with traditional methods used in the time of Gustave Eiffel: most of the time, painting is applied manually.

Lead in paints

For the 20th painting campaign of the famous Iron Lady, one of the most visited monuments in the world in the pre-Covid era, it was chosen to remove the deteriorated layers of paint. Despite precautions taken from the start of the work (collective and individual protection), samples indicating an increase in the levels of lead present on the surface of the monument were detected. As a precaution, the Altrad group in charge of the work had to suspend the painting project. It was the stripping that brought out the presence of lead in the previous layers.

Hygitec at the foot of the Eiffel Tower

The project, started in 2019 for an end scheduled in November 2022, is titanic: it requires a reinforced sanitary protocol for stripping given the presence of lead in previous paints on which the Altrad group does not compromise.

For this project, Hygitec is equipping Altrad with changing rooms allowing the simultaneous drying and disinfection of work clothes and equipment.

The drying lockers are equipped with upper shelves, rods, a "clean / dirty" separation and a padlockable lock.

The drying locker room is ideal for storing, drying and disinfecting work clothes and PPE. The machine starts up for two hours, the drying is done with hot air and is provided by a ventilation system coupled to a heating resistance. Hygitec technology preserves the technical properties of outfits and accessories. Disinfection and deodorization are ensured by an ozone-forming germicidal lamp which allows the total elimination of bacteria, viruses and other germs responsible for bad odors.

IN SHORT

Hygitec is participating in a large-scale project, after the discovery of lead on the monument, the Eiffel Tower painting campaign must take place under secure hygiene standards.