POUGHKEEPSIE – A recent report by the Wall Street Journal indicated that older overhead telecommunications lines that are sheathed in lead, are causing high levels of ground contamination of poisonous lead. Locally, Temple Park in Wappingers Falls has been closed due to a New York State Department of Health investigation to continue soil sampling.
The cables sheathed in lead were first made in the 1800s and were used for communication lines until the 1950s. Congressman Pat Ryan (D, NY-18) says the lines were put in place by companies including AT&T and Verizon. Referencing Temple Park, Ryan told Mid-Hudson News that the lead contamination at Temple Park playground is “more than double the acceptable levels of lead where kids play and this all ties back to the big telephone companies; Verizon and AT&T,” and Ryan is holding them accountable. The congressman has called for a congressional hearing because the two telecommunications giants are not providing any answers so far. “Big companies have no incentives to do the right thing.”
“Despite the fact that they made $14.8 billion in profits last quarter alone, they will not answer our questions about this or take any accountability, so we’re pushing to get more transparency and understanding,” Ryan said when justifying the call for a hearing. According to the congressman, the old communications infrastructure that contains lead is going to be a nationwide problem, now that it has been identified.
He pointed out that on the day the report was released, stock prices for AT&T and Verizon dropped 20 percent, saying that the market realized how widespread this problem is.
