The U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have launched an investigation on the impact of lead-sheathed cables, with AT&T and Verizon front and center.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the EPA’s enforcement office on Wednesday directed AT&T and Verizon to provide inspections, investigations and environmental sampling data – including future testing plans – about their lead cables and related lead infrastructure within 10 days.
The agency gave the order using its authority under the “Superfund” law, also known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
The law allows the federal government to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that could endanger public health or the environment.
Additionally, the WSJ reported the DoJ filed a civil inquiry, which is in preliminary stages, in the Southern District of New York. An insider source told the Journal the inquiry focuses partly on whether telecom companies had prior knowledge of the potential lead exposure risks to their workers or the future environmental impact.
Both AT&T and Verizon this week told investors they’re still assessing the risk of the issue, which includes conducting additional testing on the sites the WSJ initially flagged for lead exposure.
AT&T CEO John Stankey assured investors on an earnings call that scientific evidence has given the company “no reason to believe these cables pose a public health risk.”
Whereas Verizon CFO Tony Skiadas said it’s still unclear “whether there is a health risk presented by undisturbed lead-sheathed cable.”
Fierce reached out to AT&T and Verizon for comment. An AT&T spokesperson referred to a previous company statement noting “as part of our ongoing collaboration with the EPA, we will be proactively providing testing data to the agency as it thoroughly assesses the matter.”
“We hope the WSJ will do the same and share their full data and methodologies with the EPA,” the spokesperson added.
Verizon declined to comment on the DoJ and EPA investigations but referred Fierce to USTelecom for additional information.
“The U.S. telecom industry prioritizes the health and safety of our communities and workers. We continue to engage with policymakers on this important matter to share relevant information as it becomes available,” said a USTelecom spokesperson in a statement.
“We will follow the existing science, which has not identified lead-sheathed telecom cables as a public health issue. And member companies will continue to gather information at specific locations and provide testing for employees,” the spokesperson added.