US EPA says no immediate lead health threats from telecom cables

WASHINGTON: The U.S. environmental regulator said Thursday soil sampling for lead in two Pennsylvania towns near telecommunications cables indicate “no threats to the health of people nearby that would warrant” an immediate government response, despite some findings of the pollutant.

The Environmental Protection Agency testing was prompted by an investigation by the Wall Street Journal of lead covered telecommunications cables across the United States. EPA sampled soil for lead near telecommunications cables in the Pennsylvania towns of Coal Center and California.