Gov. Kathy Hochul has ordered an investigation into the presence of lead-covered telecommunication cables across the state, and the potential lead contamination they may pose to communities.
The order comes on the heels of a bombshell investigation by the Wall Street Journal, which revealed that many telecommunication companies had abandoned vast networks of lead cables decades ago all over the United States, above and below ground and even in bodies of water. The cables are potentially a major but previously under-discussed source of lead contamination in New York and around the country.
“The health and safety of New Yorkers is the top priority of my administration, and we are using all of the tools at our disposal to ensure communities are out of harm’s way,” the governor said in a statement. “
The state’s Public Service and Environmental Conservation departments sent a letter this week to the state’s 246 “facilities-based telecommunications providers” seeking a full inventory of their lead-coated cables, whether or not they’re still in use.
DEC and the Health Department will also be dispatched to the village of Wappingers Falls in Dutchess County, to test the soil at a local playground underneath an aerial cable, where the WSJ found an elevated presence of lead.
Lead is highly hazardous to human health, especially for children, who face the risk of brain damage and stunted development if they come in contact with it. But the material was commonly used in all manner of materials up until the middle of the 20th century.
The presence of lead in water pipes, paint, and gasoline is well-documented, and governments at all levels have spent decades banning its use and trying to remediate its presence. This month, the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning estimated up to 900,000 Big Apple homes receive water through lead pipes, while the presence of lead paint in the city’s public housing has had major political fallout and led to the installation of a federal monitor.
But lead’s presence in cables has previously been little discussed, with barely any effort expended by telecom companies to remove the cables despite knowing the dangers, according to the WSJ.
The revelations have caused share prices to tumble for Verizon and AT&T, the nation’s two largest telecom companies, both of which were heavily implicated in the WSJ investigation. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding answers and action from the companies, but they have so far been resistant to such calls and cast doubt on whether the cables pose health hazards.
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