Following a report that retired communication cables may be polluting waterways, soil, and air with toxic lead, lawmakers and environmental organizations have demanded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and telecom giants assess the risk of lead-sheathed cables and remove those that pose a risk to the communities they once served. 

A statement issued by AT&T asserts the testing methodologies used in the investigation are “flawed” and “compromised” and that they believe the cables they are responsible for pose no public health risk.

Verizon has taken a less resolute approach. A spokesperson for the company wrote that Verizon is “taking these concerns regarding lead-sheathed cables very seriously” and claims the cables only constitute a small portion of Verizon’s telecom network.

Although limited information has been shared with the public, AT&T and Verizon have begun testing the sites identified in the report. However, these additional testing measures may mean cables will remain in place for longer to “develop a further record”. 

This comes after AT&T settled a 2021 suit with the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance over lead-sheathed cables placed at the bottom of Lake Tahoe. The settlement agreement required the telecom giant to remove the cables. The waters affected by these cables, when tested for lead in 2023, were 2,533 times the EPA limit for drinking water. 

On Monday, shares of AT&T and Verizon sank to three-decade and 13-year lows, respectively. Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins downgraded his rating of AT&T shares from “buy” to “neutral”, and New Street Research analyst Johnathan Chaplin estimated the cables could pose a $60 billion liability to the companies. Analysts are also concerned that cleanup costs associated with the cables could threaten dividend yields.

In response to investor unease, AT&T held a conference call with Wall Street analysts on Tuesday night. The company offered more insight into the financial risks surrounding its legacy infrastructure, suggesting the cables pose a minimal financial risk that can be alleviated over a period of years. AT&T does not expect the health risks to pose a significant financial threat, even characterizing the Lake Tahoe follow-up testing as “highly constructive” to all telecom stocks impacted by Monday’s dip.

Although the true costs remain to be seen, the initial report suggests a significant financial and health burden to communities, investors, companies, and environmental advocacy groups.

Journalists solicited the help of Bruce Nelson, a University of Washington geochemistry professor, when testing for lead at selected sites. His methodology involved dissolving a sample in a strong acid and then pouring the sample over small resin balls. Lead collects on these balls, allowing it to be separated from the rest of the sample. A mass spectrometer is then used to calculate the number of isotopes in the lead samples, which helps determine if the lead is from the cables rather than other pollutants.

AT&T disagrees with this method of testing for lead, and a spokesperson for the company stated that previous tests carried out by “an expert firm” on their behalf “did not detect any release of lead.” AT&T has not published the data collected or the methodology employed during these independent tests.

Public health advocates are scrutinizing telecom giants for not acting on internal knowledge related to the dangers of lead-sheathed cables. At an industry conference in 2010, a senior manager at AT&T warned of the employee health hazards associated with the cables, sharing that “underground cable presents real possibilities for overexposure” to lead, noting further that “some older metropolitan areas may still have over 50 percent lead cable”. A former environmental health and safety employee at AT&T admitted the company found the process of removing the lead-sheathed cables daunting. He added that AT&T never sought to quantify the problem.

These details have angered the communities mentioned in the report and environmental proponents alike. Such stakeholders claim telecom giants acknowledged the risks associated with their infrastructure far before it was public knowledge but avoided taking action due to the expenses associated with a cleanup effort. Despite this criticism, AT&T maintains that the cables “pose no public health risk”.

The EPA has the authority to enact environmental cleanup efforts when it deems one necessary; however, the Agency has not commented publicly on the impact of lead-sheathed cables. There is also no evidence the EPA has begun investigating the sites mentioned in the report. A comprehensive water and soil testing program administered by the EPA may have prevented the current information deficit related to the cables. With limited involvement from the Agency, it may be months before potential public health risks and necessary cleanup measures are accurately determined.

Many Americans are familiar with the enduring battle against lead—the neurotoxin adversely affects the nervous system, kidney function, developmental systems, and the cardiovascular system, according to the EPA. Leaded gasoline was finally banned in 1990 through an amendment to the Clean Air Act; lead-based paint was more heavily regulated beginning in 1955; and lead pipes that provide drinking water continue to be replaced after high profile incidents in Washington, D.C. and Flint, Mich.

For the most part, these efforts have worked: the median concentration of lead in the blood of children has decreased by 96 percent from 1976 to 2018. So it is difficult to determine if lead-sheathed cables are actually a national health issue as opposed to a local one. At the moment, it is similarly difficult to conclude whether or not it is a public health issue at all.

The investigation discovered more than 2,000 lead-sheathed cables, but it also acknowledges that this “tally of abandoned lead cables is sure to be an undercount.” While the true dangers of these cables are still being investigated, their ubiquity in an area can frequently be determined by mere observation. Aerial lead-sheathed cables are “typically whitish-gray”, according to the report. These cables are observed most frequently in communities with older communication infrastructure.

The report recommends community members contact their local telecom company or health department if they suspect a cable in

their neighborhood contains lead.

As telecom giants, communities, and environmental organizations await more test results that could either confirm or disprove the report’s findings, the debate surrounding the public health risk posed by the lead-sheathed cables will continue. It is unclear whether or not AT&T and Verizon plan on sharing the data they collect in their independent studies during a time in which they seek to ease pressure from investors and environmentalists, and there have yet to be signs of EPA involvement in the issue.

Only in the future will it be clear if the telecom giants purposefully ignored the issues surrounding the lead-sheathed cables or if there are genuinely no health risks associated with the cables that crisscross America.

Suggested Reading:

How the Journal Investigated Hidden Lead Cables Circling the U.S.

AT&T and Verizon’s Lead Cable Problem Raises 5 Big Questions. Their Answers.

Potential health effects from lead exposure after report of AT&T lead cables

Verizon and AT&T should ‘clean up their mess’ following toxic lead cable report, congressman says

AT&T Risks Most in Likely $43 Billion Lead-Cable Cleanup

Get the Lead Out: AT&T Stock Ticks Up From Historic Low as Company Reveals That Copper Cables Cover Less Than 10% of Its Footprint

Telecom Stocks Rise as Investors Size Up Impact of Lead Cables

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