Openreach on Concerns Over Lead Poisoning from Old UK Cables

The Wall Street Journal in America recently ran an alarming multipage story that warned of how lead-insulated telecoms cables, which were installed decades ago, had been found to allegedly be poisoning the ground and nearby water. Similar cables were installed by BT (GPO) in the UK, but do they still pose a risk? We asked Openreach.

The dangers of lead metal are nothing new, and hopefully most people have some pre-existing awareness of that. Just to be clear, touching lead does carry a small risk, but it generally isn’t the main problem. The issue becomes much more dangerous when you breathe in (e.g. dust from renovations that involve lead or certain lead-based paints) or swallow it (e.g. a contaminated water supply).

Children are at greater risk of lead poisoning because their bodies more readily absorb lead and, worse, such poisoning often occurs with no obvious initial symptoms. But if you are unlucky enough to be exposed to such poisoning, then it can affect nearly every system in your body, particularly the brain and nervous system.

The aforementioned details are important because they help to explain why the WSJ’s report raised so many concerns. The report alleged that more than 2,000 lead-covered cables left behind by telecommunication companies (e.g.Verizon, AT&T, and others) in the USA could be a source of soil contamination as they degrade underwater and overhead.

The Journal claims to have tested samples from about 130 underwater cable sites and found lead present in the soil at more than 48 locations, where contamination was deemed beyond levels determined safe by the EPA. According to the EPA, the safety standard for lead levels in the soil where children play is 400 parts per million (600ppm in the UK), but at least one of the sites – sediment in a Louisiana fishing spot – had 14.5 times that amount in June 2022.

What about the UK?

Openreach (BT) has informed ISPreview that neither they nor their predecessors (General PostOffice) have installed lead-sheathed cables for decades. But like other infrastructure players – including power and water companies (lead pipes) – they do still manage cables, which were installed when lead sheathing was prevalent.

However, in terms of Openreach’s network, there are some key differences. In particular, many of the legacy cables in the US were often directly buried in the ground, while similar cables in the UK were typically housed in underground ducts. In other words, they’re not in direct contact with soil and only a tiny minority (fewer than 5%) connect directly to homes and businesses.

Openreach have also invested heavily in their safety practices and environmental controls, which are said to be independently audited and certified (ISO 14001). The Environment Agency has also never raised any related concerns with the operator, and Openreach said they’re not aware of any research or evidence that lead-sheathed telecom cables present an issue in the UK.

Regulations in this area have traditionally tended to focus on larger and more direct sources of potential lead exposure in the environment, such as vehicle fuels, industrial activities, paint, consumer products and the pipes used for drinking water.

Lead materials are also still widely used in a variety of UK industries, utilities, buildings and products (e.g. lead flashing on roofing which comes into direct contact with rain water). Suffice to say that, when considering lead poisoning, old telecoms cables aren’t top of the hit list.

Speaking of drinking water, the UK is deemed, unlike in the USA, to have some of the cleanest drinking water in the world. The water supplied in the UK is generally found to be virtually lead free, although a tiny amount can sometimes get into your supply as it passes through lead plumbing inside or outside your home (mostly an issue for older homes). Water companies commonly add orthophosphate to our drinking water as a plumbosolvency agent to tackle this, but problems can still crop up. If you’re worried, then it is possible to buy a water test to check what’s coming out of your taps.

Nevertheless, it’s worth pointing out that telecoms cable ducts aren’t infallible. Over time, some ducts do become compromised by breakages that can result in blockages, and the cables could thus then come into contact with the surrounding soil. Such issues are usually very limited and isolated to specific areas, but it may present a small risk and one that further research might help to fully alleviate.

We did ask Openreach if they had any idea about the status of related ducts and how many of these cables might still exist, although at the time of writing the operator hadn’t yet provided a solid figure.

The WSJ’s findings are disputed

Finally, it’s worth noting that both the methodology and findings of the original report are currently being disputed by the operators and related pro-telecoms organisations (here and here). The key takeaway being that neither the regulators nor the relevant network operators have, through their own testing, found anything to worry about.

Research from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which conducts research, development, and demonstration projects for the benefit of the public in the USA and internationally, has also previously found no cause for concern: “Overall, the risks from exposure to lead in lead-sheathed cable are very low, and replacing cable for reasons of environmental protection alone isn’t justified at this time.”

Statement from AT&T

We take the matters raised by The Journal very seriously, and any public health concern is a top priority. It’s important to note that The Journal’s reporting conflicts not only with what independent experts and long-standing science have stated about the safety of lead-clad telecom cables but also our own testing, which we have made available to the public and shared with The Journal. The scientific literature and reliable studies in the U.S. and abroad give no reason to believe that these cables pose a public health issue or a risk to workers when appropriate safety measures are in place.

Based on information shared by The Journal, it appears that certain of their testing methodologies are flawed and one of the companies responsible for the testing is compromised by a conflict of interest.

Any new scientific data needs to be studied further before arriving at conclusions about public health and safety related to these cables. Should there be a need for further analysis of this topic, we will work collaboratively with industry peers and other stakeholders and act responsibly.

However, this is perhaps to be expected and doesn’t mean to say that more research, particularly from fully independent regulators and organisations with no connection to telecoms, isn’t warranted to help confirm that public health is not at risk. One issue here is that the USA does have somewhat of a mixed history with recognising and tackling public health concerns (teflon using PFOA, chromium etc.).

At the end of the day, the WSJ has raised an issue that probably does warrant a closer look and that perhaps shouldn’t be restricted to the USA. But at the same time, past research casts doubt on the likelihood of lead-sheathed telecom cables being the cause of serious contamination and that risk is significantly reduced in the UK, where such cables are normally found in ducts and probably won’t stay there for much longer.

As such, it seems as if the people likely to face the highest risk will be the engineers tasked with removing these cables, rather than the general UK public.