NY Pension Fund Presses AT&T, Verizon Over Toxic Lead Cables

New York state’s pension plan, one of the nation’s biggest, asked the chiefs of telecommunications giants <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/T%20US%20Equity/ESG","_id":"0000018a-1d83-d65e-a1ea-1febcb1e0000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">AT&T Inc. and <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/VZ%20US%20Equity/ESG","_id":"0000018a-1d83-d65e-a1ea-1febcb1e0001","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Verizon Communications Inc. about plans to reduce their environmental impact after a report found that their network of cables contained toxic lead.

New York State Comptroller <-bsp-person state="{"_id":"0000018a-1d83-d65e-a1ea-1febcb200000","_type":"00000160-6f41-dae1-adf0-6ff519590003"}">Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the fund’s $254 billion in assets for government employees, specifically wants the companies to disclose what their plans are to identify where the cables are located and remove them. He also asked in letters sent Aug. 10 whether the companies plan to provide enhanced health services to protect employees.

A ...