It didn’t take long for elected officials to react to a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that thousands of communication cables wrapped in lead are buried in the ground across the U.S. and could be leaching the metal into the soil. Highlighted in the WSJ story was a cable at Temple Park in Wappingers Falls in Dutchess County. The WSJ reported that soil at the park perimeter had elevated lead levels above what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe in soil in areas where children play.
As a result of the story, Rep. Pat Ryan, who used to be the Ulster County executive, wrote to the CEOs of Verizon, AT&T and U.S. Telecom, demanding that they remove their lead cables.
“The fact that telecommunications companies knew that there were lead-covered cables left abandoned in communities, and did not proactively work to mitigate the impacts of the cables is unacceptable,” Ryan wrote. “This corporate irresponsibility and its compounding public health impacts has the possibility of harming a generation of children, who were simply going to the playground.”
Wappingers Falls’ Temple Park was temporarily closed while both the New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation examined soil samples for signs of lead. Both agencies sent a letter to 246 telecommunications companies operating in the state telling them to begin compiling an inventory of all cables still in use or abandoned that may contain lead.
“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,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “Lead-covered cables pose a serious threat to communities across New York, and I am directing state agencies to immediately launch a full investigation. We will hold the telecommunication companies responsible and take swift action to remediate any problems.”
