Following recent news reports about legacy lead-clad telecom cables, we feel it’s important to provide you with more information on the history, our statement on the matter, and educational information from our industry body, USTelecom.
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July 18, 2023
We care deeply about the health and safety of our people, customers and communities. Consistent with that, we’re taking even more action:
- We are working with union partners to add a voluntary testing program for any employee who works with or has worked with lead-clad cables. We will be offering the testing on company time and at company expense. This expands on our previous practice of providing blood-lead testing for technicians involved in lead-clad cable removal and following all applicable laws and regulations relating to the handling of lead-clad cables.
- While we have previously tested lead-clad cables and continue to believe that they pose no public health risk, we take any health concern seriously and are conducting additional testing beyond Lake Tahoe, including the locations identified in The Journal’s stories.
- We are performing in-person site visits where lead-clad cables are present to inspect their condition and determine if any action is necessary.
- We are going to further study the cables in Lake Tahoe. This is in exact alignment with what the environmentalists behind The Journal’s reporting asked the EPA to do in an open letter on July 17. The open letter makes it clear that the condition of underwater cables should be further assessed to determine the risk posed to the public before taking any further actions. We plan to work cooperatively with regulators and other stakeholders on a risk assessment.
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