Lead to Death

Lead has long since been associated with birth defects, impairing physical and mental normal growth in children, and often a slow, agonizing death based on prolonged exposure. The Wall Street Journal began an extensive series of investigations and has produced a stunning array of published results based on new and extensive lead in our environment that has been dramatically overlooked for decades: telephone cables covered in toxic lead, underground, through major waterways and even overhead. Lead coverings that have degraded over time, leaching their toxicity everywhere. “These relics of the old Bell System’s regional telephone network, and their impact on the environment, haven’t been previously reported…

“Doctors say that no amount of contact with lead is safe, whether ingested or inhaled, particularly for children’s physical and mental development. Even without further exposure, lead can stay in the blood for about two or three months, and be stored in bones and organs longer. Risks include behavior and learning problems and damage to the central nervous system in children, as well as kidney, heart and reproductive problems in adults, according to U.S. health agencies.” WSJ, July 15th.

The use of lead as protective covering for these cable links in massive telecom networks spanned a period from the late 19th century right into the 1960s. And when I say massive, that notion cannot be understated. From New York west and south, lead-covered cables are absolutely everywhere, obviously more prevalent in the older networks. It’s also testament to why we have environmental regulations, since self-enforcement and taking responsibility for toxic clean-up is seldom initiated even by companies seriously aware of the problem.

“For many years, telecom companies have known about the lead-covered cables and the potential risks of exposure to their workers, according to documents and interviews with former employees. They were also aware that lead was potentially leaching into the environment, but haven’t meaningfully acted on potential health risks to the surrounding communities or made efforts to monitor the cables.” WSJ. Indeed, if you want to see how extensive the toxicity and how much the relevant corporation knew about the problem, I strongly recommend that you consume the excellent WJJ reportage on of the subject.

Here are some the Journal’s summary findings:

—Roughly 330 of the total number of underwater cable locations identified by the Journal are in a “source water protection area,” designated by federal regulators as contributing to the drinking-water supply, according to an EPA review performed for the Journal.

—Aerial lead cabling runs alongside more than 100 schools with about 48,000 students in total. More than 1,000 schools and child-care centers sit within half a mile of an underwater lead cable, according to a Journal analysis using data from research firm MCH Strategic Data.

—In New Jersey alone, more than 350 bus stops are next to or beneath aerial lead-covered cables, a Journal analysis of NJ Transit data found.

—Roughly 80% of sediment samples taken next to underwater cables, which the Journal tested, showed elevated levels of lead. It isn’t known if the level of leaching is constant; experts say old cables tend to degrade over time.

Scientists have been able to differentiate lead from cable coverings from lead from other sources: “The U.S. has spent decades eradicating lead from well-known sources such as paint, gasoline and pipes. The Journal’s investigation reveals a hidden source of contamination—more than 2,000 lead-covered cables—that hasn’t been addressed by the companies or environmental regulators. These relics of the old Bell System’s regional telephone network, and their impact on the environment, haven’t been previously reported.

“Lead levels in sediment and soil at more than four dozen locations tested by the Journal exceeded safety recommendations set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At the New Iberia [Louisiana] fishing spot, lead leaching into the sediment near a cable in June 2022 measured 14.5 times the EPA threshold for areas where children play. ‘We’ve been fishing here since we were kids,’ said Tyrin Jones, 27 years old, who grew up a few blocks away.”

Tracking these cables is anything but easy, particularly given the mass of mergers and acquisitions in the industry over decades. “With the breakup of the Bell System’s monopoly in 1984, regional phone companies became independent competitors that consolidated over time to form the backbone of modern carriers AT&T and Verizon. Tracking the current owners of old cables isn’t a simple task after decades of deals, and the companies themselves in many instances denied their ownership. The Journal provided lists of cable locations to major telecom providers, which declined to detail cable locations.

“To track the underwater cables, the Journal collected more than 40,000 pages of records from federal and state government offices, including applications to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to install the cables that were approved more than a century ago. Removing Army Corps-approved cables at any time would routinely require a permit or be noted in the original paperwork, officials say. The Journal tally of abandoned lead cables is sure to be an undercount.” EPA Superfund money is hardly dedicated to cleaning up this cable pollution, and efforts in Congress and the GOP congressional delegation to cut funding to contain environmental realities has not helped either. Life vs profits? We are watching a conservative backlash against spending money in obvious ways to save lives.

I’m Peter Dekom, and if you care about living in a clean environment with a government that is targeting life-threatening emissions of all kinds, vote for candidates who also prioritize those views.