Wall Street Journalのインスタグラム(wsj) - 7月15日 16時03分

Tracy Fitchhorn worked with lead solder. Her husband, Dan Fitchhorn, spliced lead cables. Her father, Peter Hopkins, handled lead as an installer and repairman. All worked for decades for telecom companies. All are now sick.⁠
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The Fitchhorns, like tens of thousands of workers at American Telephone & Telegraph and its successor companies, were exposed to lead on the job over many years. Current and former workers say they often felt left in the dark about their exposure and how to stay safe.⁠
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Some of the workers have neurological disorders, kidney ailments, gastrointestinal issues and cardiovascular problems, illnesses that can be linked to lead exposure. There’s no way to determine what triggered specific ailments. Doctors say no amount of lead is safe. ⁠
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AT&T dismissed “anecdotal, non-evidence-based linkages to individuals’ health symptoms,” saying those symptoms “could be associated with a vast number of potential causes.” Verizon said it has “a robust safety and health program to provide training, materials and resources,” and that workers can get lead testing at any time at no cost.⁠
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Current and former workers described scant precautions. Many said they learned how to handle lead on the job and weren’t given respirators or regular blood lead tests. ⁠
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Cynthia Martinez worked for six years melting lead solder while wearing fingerless gloves and no mask. She later became a cable splicer, working at least once a week with aerial or underground lead-sheathed cables. Martinez last year had a kidney removed after a resurgence of cancer. Lead is classified as a probable human carcinogen by health agencies.⁠
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Martinez filed a workers’ compensation case against AT&T last year, arguing that her work caused medical troubles including kidney cancer. AT&T denied her claim, citing a lack of supporting medical information, according to a document it sent her.⁠
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Read more at the link in our bio.⁠
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Photos and videos: @arianadrehsler (1, 2, 4); @isadorakosofsky (3)

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