AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), the US telecom provider, slumped to a 30-year low on Tuesday as it manages the fallout from reports relating to toxic lead cables.
The Wall Street Journal reported that for decades AT&T and other telecom companies like Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) were aware its lead cables, used for phone wires, caused employees to end up with irregularly high levels of metal in their blood.
Many of the cables, after becoming obsolete, were dumped across the US decades ago and now research has found that lead has been seeping into the environment and near drinking water.
Exposure to high levels of lead can cause medical problems like kidney and heart disease as well as reproductive issues.
In a statement on its website, AT&T claims its management of the “legacy lead cables” was always in compliance with laws and regulations.
“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,” the telecom giant stated.
It argued the testing methods used by the US news outfit were flawed and claimed one company the Journal used to conduct the test was “compromised by a conflict of interest”.
However, it did not reveal why, or which company had a conflict of interest.
Citigroup and JP Morgan both downgraded the US stock in the wake of the scandal, exacerbating the slide in share price.
AT&T is down over 10% in the last five days, with the stock hanging around the US$13.60 mark ahead of trading opening in the US.