The WSJ reported, "For many years, telecom companies have known about the lead-covered cables and the potential risks of exposure to their workers, according to documents and interviews with former employees. They were also aware that lead was potentially leaching into the environment, but haven't meaningfully acted on potential health risks to the surrounding communities or made efforts to monitor the cables."
The WSJ quoted former cable splicer James Winn, who worked for several Bell system companies for 45 years, as saying the companies "knew the risks, but they didn't want to do a lot to mitigate it." "Company testing in the 1980s found that [Winn] had high levels of lead in his blood, but his manager told him to go back to working with lead shortly after, he said," the WSJ wrote. Another WSJ article on the topic that came out today profiled former workers who have illnesses that could have been caused by lead exposure. "Some of the workers have neurological disorders, kidney ailments, gastrointestinal issues and cardiovascular problems, illnesses that can be linked to lead exposure," the WSJ wrote. "There's no way to determine what triggered specific ailments. Doctors say no amount of lead is safe." According to the article, "AT&T dismissed 'anecdotal, non-evidence-based linkages to individuals' health symptoms,' saying those symptoms 'could be associated with a vast number of potential causes.' Verizon said it has 'a robust safety and health program to provide training, materials and resources,' and that workers can get lead testing at any time at no cost."
AT&T posted a statement on its website calling the WSJ's testing methodologies "flawed." The company also said it "manage[s] legacy lead-clad cables in compliance with applicable laws and regulations" and follows best practices "based on established science."