Lead Telecommunications Cables: A Call for Concern?

From the late 1800s until the 1950s, telecommunication companies across the United States utilized lead casing to protect their telecommunication lines. As technology developed and different types of plastic coatings were created, telecommunication companies phased out the use of lead cables. However, the lead cables remain in the air and buried in the ground, even continuing to provide telephone service for some. The failure to remove these cables, most of which are not in use anymore, has generated a slew of issues for the modem-day telecommunication companies that have inherited these cables from their predecessors. As the protective casing decays, a possible major environmental and public health issue has come from the cables' slow release of lead into the surrounding environment. Investigations and one large lawsuit have opened into the issue of the existing lead cables. But are the lead cables as dangerous as these investigations allege? A comparison of lead in different industries may show that the underlying issue with the lead cables is not as extreme as previously imagined. With allegations and investigations clouding the telecommunications industry, other industries' use of lead may be used to defend the existing business practices of leaving the lead cables in place. The evolution of lead regulation in other industries provides insight into the extent of regulation needed for the telecommunications sector as a comparison may reveal which regulation would be most effective for this current need. It has not been determined if the existing lead cables throughout the United States do pose a threat to environmental and public health. However, when the lead cables are eventually removed, regulatory bodies will likely need to provide some long-term plan for the removal process. This will likely need to be effectuated through assistance programs that help telecommunication companies remove the existing lead cables over an extended period of time, likely spanning many years. Nonetheless, courts and regulatory bodies will need to tread carefully into this area, as existing lead regulations provide merely a possible solution that can and should be improved upon later as the extent of the problem becomes clearer.