Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Cables Abandoned by Verizon, AT&T, Others Exposed New Yorkers to Toxic Lead

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The Town of Wappinger, New York has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Verizon, AT&T, Frontier, Consolidated Communications and several other telecom firms, claiming the companies’ “sprawling network” of abandoned, lead-sheathed telecommunications cables have exposed residents to dangerously high levels of lead.

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The 99-page lawsuit says that prior to the 1960s, the old Bell System had thousands of miles of lead-covered cables installed on overhead poles, underground, in buildings and underwater. After the Bell System was dismantled in the 1980s, the defendants assumed ownership of these lead-sheathed cables in their respective operating areas, the case explains.

As technology advanced, introducing alternatives such as plastic sheathing and fiber optics, these obsolete lead-wrapped cables were eventually abandoned, the suit says.

The filing contends that the telecom companies’ negligent decision to leave their lead-sheathed cables in place has subjected individuals to a heightened risk of lead poisoning, particularly due to the cables’ degradation over the years, causing lead to seep into the surrounding soil and water. In addition, lead dust from overhead cables has contributed to air contamination, the case notes.

Related Reading: Lead-Sheathed Cables Class Action Lawsuit

Indeed, according to a Wall Street Journal exposé published in July 2023, independent lab testing has uncovered that the environments near the defendants’ lead-sheathed cables—including in the town of Wappinger and other municipalities across New York State—have lead levels that exceed safety recommendations established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Per the suit, lead exposure presents many significant health risks, including damage to the brain, nervous system, kidneys, and cardiovascular system, as well as cancer, decreased fertility, neurological issues and cognitive impairment.

“For many years, [the defendants] have known that the lead-covered cables existed, that lead was potentially leaching into the environment surrounding the cables, and that the cables created significant risks of human and animal exposure,” the complaint claims. “[The defendants], however, have not meaningfully acted to mitigate the health risks to the individuals who work near the cables, nor made adequate efforts to monitor or dispose of the cables.”

The case is particularly concerned with the heightened risks faced by those whose work brings them in direct contact with these lead cables, such as utility lineworkers, as well as children, who are more susceptible to the harmful effects of lead exposure.

Notably, soil testing in Wappingers Falls, where a lead-sheathed cable hangs above the perimeter of a playground, detected lead levels of 850 to 1,000 parts per million (ppm), the case alleges. These levels sharply exceed the EPA’s recommended lead concentration of 200 ppm for areas where children play, the filing says.

The lawsuit looks to represent all government units in New York State with full legal authority that provide essential services such as public health, law enforcement and emergency care to residents who have been exposed to significant health risks by the defendants’ alleged actions and inaction regarding abandoned lead-sheathed telecom cables, and that have suffered ongoing harm and a substantial financial burden on their limited resources, costs and damages incurred due to the defendants’ alleged actions in New York.

In addition to seeking damages for New York municipalities that have been forced to address the health risks allegedly caused by Verizon, AT&T, Frontier, Consolidated Communications and several other telecom companies, the class action suit aims to have the defendants remove and properly dispose of the lead-sheathed cables in the state, and mitigate the surrounding lead contamination.

The case also seeks to have the defendants establish a health monitoring program to help early detect future lead-related conditions among individuals living and working within the communities governed by the affected New York municipalities.

“This case is about one thing: corporate greed,” the lawsuit scathes. “[The defendants] put their desire for profits above the health and well-being of residents in the geographic area of [the plaintiff] and class members—at the cost of [the plaintiff] and class members.”

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