Verizon has told Representative Pat Ryan (D–NY-18) that three sites with allegedly dangerous decades-old telecom cabling encased with lead are safe.

In July, The Wall Street Journal reported that Verizon, AT&T and other telcos controlled old lead-sheathed cables on poles, underwater or in the earth that can decay and which, according to the WSJ, may pose a public health risk.

A letter this week from Robert Fisher, Verizon’s senior vice president of federal government relations, claims that tests conducted by third-party experts showed that sites referenced in the WSJ article are not dangerous.

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