AT&T reluctantly agreed to remove tens of tons of lead from the bottom of Lake Tahoe

US telecom operator AT&T has agreed to remove abandoned lead-sheathed cables that have led to toxic pollution in Lake Tahoe. The company has reached a legal settlement with the environmental group California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), which filed a lawsuit against it in 2021, according to Datacenter Dynamics. The cables had been in water for at least 60 years.

AT&T will recover 107 thousand pounds (about 48.5 tons) of lead from the bottom of the lake, the total length of cables is about 8 miles (about 12.9 km). CSPA is celebrating the victory, citing its importance to the environment, local residents who rely on the lake for drinking water, and the millions of visitors to Tahoe’s shores. A CSPA investigation found that abandoned cables were indeed poisoning the lake’s water. In particular, lead was found in algae, which form the basis of food chains for local fish, some mollusks and crayfish.

It is not known for certain how long the cables were in the lake. Probably for quite a long time, since the use of lead cable infrastructure in the United States ceased in 1964. But it is known that the use of lead sheaths for cables in the United States began in the 1880s. When fiber optics began to be used, old cables were usually simply abandoned where they were laid, and fiber-optic lines were pulled along parallel routes.

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AT&T initially agreed to remove the cables from the bottom in 2021, but almost immediately suspended the process and hired nine experts who unanimously declared that there was no threat. But in the end, AT&T decided not to get involved with environmentalists. Representatives said that while the company is confident in the safety of the cables, it still intends to stick to its original promises regarding Lake Tahoe.

Last year, The Wall Street Journal’s investigation found that AT&T, Verizon and other US telecom companies were polluting US waters and lands by leaving unattended lead-clad cables both on land and underwater. In total, the researchers collected about 130 samples from cable sites across the country. The condition of soils and water was assessed by several independent laboratories and the samples were found to be toxic. In total, about 2 thousand cables were identified.

The operators themselves argued that many cables are still in use, including by emergency services, and their operation does not contradict local laws. Subsequently, class action lawsuits were filed against Verizon and AT&T, where the operators were accused of hiding data about the toxic cables they owned. And already in 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) became interested in the problem.