From another article on this (https://www.businessinsider.com/att-verizon-abandoned-phone-cables-cause-soil-contamination-wsj-investigation-2023-7?op=1 https://

From another article on this (https://www.businessinsider.com/att-verizon-abandoned-phone-cables-cause-soil-contamination-wsj-investigation-2023-7?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/att-verizon-abandoned-phone-...): > According to the EPA, the safety standard for lead levels in the soil where children play is 400 parts per million. Sediment in a Louisiana fishing spot often frequented by local kids was found to have 14.5 times that amount in June 2022, the Journal reported. > Former EPA official Linda Birnbaum told the Journal its findings "suggest there is a significant problem from these buried lead cables everywhere, and it's going to be everywhere, and you're not even going to know where it is in a lot of places." That’s over 1/2% lead. That’s absurd. I find it hard to believe that a decaying cable could do that to sediment in a fishing spot unless the sample was dug up right next to a cable.