Before telephone wires were coated in plastic, they were originally protected by a layer of lead. Lead-sheathed cables were largely phased out in the 1950s, but in Portland’s oldest neighborhoods, some of them still hang from utility poles. A recent study from Oregon State University tested lead levels in moss in some neighborhoods and found that lead levels are up to 600 times higher in places where the cables were once used than in other nearby areas. The findings raise concerns about whether the cables could lead to increased risk of lead exposure for residents of older neighborhoods.

Alyssa Shiel is an associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric sciences at OSU and the study’s lead author. She joins us with more details.