Ryan calls for action to deal with toxic lead cables

CORNWALL- Congressman Pat Ryan (NY-18) called upon telecom companies to take responsibility for their abandoned toxic lead cables in Cornwall and all around the Hudson Valley Saturday morning in front of Cornwall Town Hall.

Ryan said the lead sheathing on the cable leaches into the ground and poses a health threat. He referenced a July 9, 2023 Wall Street Journal report that revealed telecom companies have left behind cables across the country.  The Journal investigation uncovered a health threat at Temple Park Playground in Wappingers Falls where lead cables have been found; the playground was temporarily closed.

Ryan called for telecom companies, including Verizon and ATT, to take responsibility for their abandoned cable. He criticized them for refusing to even reveal the locations of the cable.

A spokesperson for US Telecom, an association that represents broadband providers said that science doesn’t support Ryan’s clam that lead-sheathed telecom cables are a public health issue.

“The U.S. telecom industry prioritizes the health and safety of its communities and workers.  We will continue to follow the science, which has not identified that lead-sheathed telecom cables are a leading cause of lead exposure or the cause of a public health issue.  And recent federal, state, and industry testing has reinforced this point.  Our industry remains committed to engaging constructively with stakeholders, including policymakers, on this important matter.”

Other speakers at the press event included Tracy Andrews, president of the volunteer Cornwall Cleanup Crew, Inc., some of whom attended in their orange hoodies.  Andrews said that the crew has been attacking illegal dumping for more than a year.

Andrews said it was crew member Angelo Schembari who identified the abandoned lead cable in Cornwall.  Schembari said telecon corporations cut areal cables that are sometimes left in drainage ditches.  As a measure of the crew’s efforts, Andrews said that members have removed more than 500 tires.  She said she hopes to create a Hudson Valley Cleanup Crew.

Jeremy Cherson of Riverkeeper praised the efforts of a coalition of government leaders and environmental organizations that are working on the problem.  He said the leaching cables pose a particular threat to children and wildlife.

Assemblymember Chris Eachus said that another aspect of the problem is the disposal of the abandoned cables.

Cornwall Town Supervisor Josh Wojehowski said that workers need protective gear to safeguard them in their efforts.

Ted Warren of the Cornwall Conservation Advisory Council also attended.  The council annually coordinates a local stretch of the Riverkeeper Sweep, along the shore of the Hudson River in Cornwall-on-Hudson.  The 13^th annual Sweep will take place May 4.

The attendees then moved to an area along Quaker Avenue near the Quaker meeting house to see abandoned cables.