What AT&T and Verizon knew about toxic lead cables for decades
This is part of a series that’s been running in the WSJ for a week now. There are still lead lined cables all over the country, with little awareness of the risks they pose; the first article in the series discussed cables going past playgrounds and daycare centers.<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/lead-cables-telecoms-att-toxic-5b34408b" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.wsj.com/articles/lead-cables-telecoms-att-toxic-...</a> <a href="https://archive.is/MA0wG" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://archive.is/MA0wG</a><p>“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.”<p>We took lead out of gas (except general aviation). Everyone who buys or rents an older home or even just buys paint at the hardware store is reminded of lead in paint. Most are aware of lead in pipes, especially where these pipes are present. Yet lead levels in children nationwide are still substantially higher than they should be given the mitigations that have already been done.<p>These cables are likely a huge portion of what’s left, and almost nobody has heard of them. Even when they’re right in front of your face hanging from a telephone pole.