The Environmental Protection Agency this month lowered the screening levels for lead by half. It was the first such action in 30 years.
The sweet-tasting, IQ-lowering chemical element with the atomic number 82, known as Pb, horrifies parents everywhere because of its ability seriously to damage the developing brains of children. Lead exposure can also bring on severe health complications in adults, causing cardiovascular, kidney and reproductive-health issues. The toxin, which accumulates in the body over time, can be stored in bones and teeth.
Long since fallen out of fashion for plumbing and cookware, gasoline and paint, lead remains present in lead-sheathed cable networks, buried underground or underwater, suspended in the air in plain sight, shedding poison into the surrounding environment.
Telecommunication companies operating in the Hudson Valley like AT&T and Verizon haven’t been forthcoming in sharing the locations of their lead-sheathed cable.
“There is no safe or acceptable level of lead for our kids, whether it comes from pipes or cables,” said congressmember Pat Ryan in a statement.
“Yet Verizon and AT&T are knowingly exposing your children and mine to toxic lead cables while refusing to take any responsibility.”
The screening level for lead in soil at residential properties was previously 400 parts per million (ppm). The EPA now advises that the presence of lead in soil or sand at levels 200 ppm is reason enough to remediate the soil.
At residential properties with multiple sources of lead exposure, the EPA says it will generally use 100 ppm as its screening level. The EPA says communities often face multiple sources of lead exposure, including in drinking water.
A July article in the Wall Street Journal exposed the existence of more than 2000 lead-sheathed cable across the United States which had not been addressed either by companies or by environmental regulators.
Incensed, Ryan wrote to Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, AT&T CEO John Stankey, and U.S. Telecom CEO Jonathan Spalter demanding to know the location of lead cables within the his congressional district, which contains Orange and portions of Ulster and Dutchess counties. He wanted to be advised of any plans by the companies for remediation of the undesirable cables from the environment.
Ryan says that both Verizon and AT&T have refused multiple requests to disclose to the public the location of these lead cables.
As part of their effort to keep the locations of the lead cables hidden, Ryan said, Verizon is currently in litigation with the New York State Department of Health.
“This is a serious and far-reaching public-health matter, and we need to mobilize a robust response at all levels of government,” said Ryan. “I’m calling on Verizon and AT&T to disclose the locations of these toxic lead cables and commit to robust testing so we can fix this problem once and for all.
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