[sclarisse]

This is part of a series that’s been running in the WSJ for a week now. There are still lead lined cables all over the country, with little awareness of the risks they pose; the first article in the series discussed cables going past playgrounds and daycare centers.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/lead-cables-telecoms-att-toxic-... https://archive.is/MA0wG

“Aerial lead cabling runs alongside more than 100 schools with about 48,000 students in total. More than 1,000 schools and child-care centers sit within half a mile of an underwater lead cable, according to a Journal analysis using data from research firm MCH Strategic Data.”

We took lead out of gas (except general aviation). Everyone who buys or rents an older home or even just buys paint at the hardware store is reminded of lead in paint. Most are aware of lead in pipes, especially where these pipes are present. Yet lead levels in children nationwide are still substantially higher than they should be given the mitigations that have already been done.

These cables are likely a huge portion of what’s left, and almost nobody has heard of them. Even when they’re right in front of your face hanging from a telephone pole.

[myself248]

"Within half a mile" is an inane standard. There's no evidence that a _buried_ cable leaches lead that far, that's simply bonkers. Lead is definitely not something to chew on, but this is histrionic fearbait reporting.

[mschuster91]

> There's no evidence that a _buried_ cable leaches lead that far

Well, the question is how much lead leaches out and gets transported by rainfall down to groundwater tables from which we source our drinking water.

[sclarisse]

Note that the half-mile statistic is connected to underwater cables, not buried cables. It is certainly an overcount, but it is probably not trivial to assess the local hydrology and the extent to which children’s play areas might be exposed to such water.

[toast0]

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders why the telcos want us to know there's lead in the wires now.

Maybe so they have an excuse to tear the wires down and end services in areas they don't care to service anymore.

Maybe so they can get more subsidies to run fiber that they'll promise to connect people with, but won't ever need to account for.

[EvanAnderson]

The telco wiring in my area (Western Ohio) is a mess. I see pedestals with the cans broken open and splices exposed all over. The ILEC in my area (Frontier) is bankrupt, but the non-bankrupt ILECs in surrounding areas are doing no better with basic maintenance.

I get angry when I see it, thinking about the history of free easements, tax abatement, subsidy, and other favorable treatment that the telcos received, historically, and how they can leave this perfectly serviceable infrastructure to rot.

[bob1029]

I am strongly on board with the subsidy theory. This wouldn't be the first time.

Looking at what this is doing to the stock price of AT&T adds another potential item to your list:

Hedge funds pushing well-timed narratives to their benefit.

[alexzhues]

The original WSJ report used soil samples underneath old power lines to determine that there were still lead-sheathed cables leaking into the environment. And based on the responses from telco’s legal/PR departments (ie denial of health risks), this isn’t a story they wanted to leak.

[icedchai]

Yes, they probably want subsidies to remove the cable. Around here (VZ territory), they leave it to rot on the poles. Most of the area is on fiber now. If I walk around the block, I see broken copper cables, wires hanging out, squirrels nesting in the junctions, etc.

[etempleton]

It is not a bad theory. The telecoms have been actively abandoning phone lines for years because it isn’t worth the cost for them to do so anymore, but they are still required to by law. Perhaps they think they can get the tear down and replacement with fiber subsidized.

[hanniabu]

They've probably reached a point where they're failing at a higher rate and need replacing. Leaking this info would get the government involved and the telcos can probably get the taxpayers to foot the bill replacing all of them.

[hulitu]

It is usually to conceal more important news.

[MrVitaliy]

GA is getting rid of lead too -- https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/avgas#:~:text=The%20mo....

[downrightmike]

Actually little remediation has gone on, as it would cost billions to solve the problem and keep kids safe, and not many in government want to actually solve the issue. The only thing that has happened is pretty much the removal of lead from paint and gas and let nature bury the rest.

[BaculumMeumEst]

> Everyone who buys or rents an older home or even just buys paint at the hardware store is reminded of lead in paint. Most are aware of lead in pipes, especially where these pipes are present. Yet lead levels in children nationwide are still substantially higher than they should be given the mitigations that have already been done.

Things like food contamination can be tricky to stop, but we’re getting better at it. I get amazon alerts when batches of a food I buy from whole foods were found to be contaminated. That’s only happened once, but it turned out to be okay.

Worth noting that the mitigations you mentioned do work, because many kids live in the environment you describe but do not have elevated levels of lead.

[chaxor]

This is just an absolutely awful idea simply due to the weight.

The reason people are trying to get carbon nanotube electricity lines in the air is not because 'nano' is a cool word, but because they're really light while conducting electricity. Lead is, well, quite the opposite of that.

[kevin_thibedeau]

> This is just an absolutely awful idea simply due to the weight.

Buried cables used to be lead jacketed before viable polymers suitable for long term use were developed in the modern era.

[hammock]

Carbon nanoparticles might pose their own risk, though my intuition suggests the threat is not as immediate or great as that from lead

[Gordonjcp]

Isn't it a problem that carbon is mostly one of the things you make nearly every resistor out of, instead of wires?

[DANmode]

It depends on the local water table, doesn't it?

[nashashmi]

One day we will also focus on why live electricity is running right in front of schools and sidewalks where children are walking to and from school.