EPA issues letter to AT&T and Verizon executives about lead sheathing, WSJ says

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued letters to AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) executives in an effort to engage in talks regarding their phone cables with lead sheathing, Shalini Ramachandran, Susan Pulliam and Coulter Jones of The Wall Street Journal reported. The agency’s action follows its discovery, as reported by WSJ, of over 100 instances where soil and sediment readings at phone cable sites in three states exceeded the EPA’s safety guidelines for children. AT&T, Verizon and other telecom firms with older lead cables have asserted that these cables do not present a public health risk and are not a significant contributor to environmental lead, considering the presence of other lead sources in closer proximity to residential areas.