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Doe Run might be forced to close

LivinginPeru.com
Isabel Guerra

Peru is not considering to grant Doe Run Peru an extension to to meet the terms of  the PAMA (an environmental cleanup program), that is supposed to be completed by October, said Juan Felipe Isasi, Vice Minister of Mining.

"We have not seen any legislative change that would permit us to foresee an extension of the cleanup. There is a rule in force, which mandates that Doe Run must complete the cleanup in October," said Isasi to an international news agency.

He added that the company has sufficient time to do what it is required.

He remarked that Doe Run Peru may be forced to close if it does not comply with the environmental agreement.

La Oroya, the city surrounding Doe Run´s smelter, has often been ranked in the top 10 of the world's most polluted cities.

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# Splaktar says :
21 May, 2009 [ 08:57 ]

They have already received a 3 year extension, they don't deserve another.

# Mike says :
21 May, 2009 [ 10:05 ]

It is a very silly article - they *may* be forced to close, but say they really won't because they are confident they will reach the deadline?

It's like saying "Lima May Burn to the Ground", oh, but really it won't.

# Star says :
21 May, 2009 [ 14:16 ]

They should shut down that hell hole.

# Fred says :
21 May, 2009 [ 14:51 ]

they can't shut it down. do you actually think that the state will clean it up? and if you didn't already know, the state is the one that is responsible for the overwhelming majority of environmental problems generated during their decades of operation of the facility. It significantly cleaner than it was when Doe Run bought it, but it still has a loooooonnng way to go. If it's shut down, it'll remain a pollution source to the end of time because nobody else is going to assume the $100M+ cleanup price tag.

# Splaktar says :
21 May, 2009 [ 15:02 ]

I guess it was their mistake for buying it and taking it off of the government's hands then.  It is their problem now and for as long as they want to use it to make money.  If they can't meet their obligations, then the responsibility needs to be transferred to another company or back to the Peruvian government.

# c. schmidt says :
21 May, 2009 [ 17:42 ]

"The day the last river and sea are contaminated, the day the last tree is cut down and  and the last part on earth is burned we will understand that we cant own the earth"
-North American Native Wisdom-

# Marianna says :
26 May, 2009 [ 12:36 ]

I don't understand why Peru's government allows this factory to continue operating when it is killing the people and environment that live near the factory.  Did you know that the factory built special schools for children with lead poisoning that have developmental disabilities because so many children in the area have toxic levels of lead in their blood directly related to pollution from the factory?  Did you know that this same company has a similar factory in the United States, but because of the environmental laws in the United States is not polluting it's environment to toxic levels like it is in Peru.  Yes, the company is too blame for not keeping with the environmental standards it does in the US, but also the Peruvian government is to blame for not enforcing higher standards!!  This same work can be done without the immense amount of pollution.  It is difficult to say to completely shut down the factory when the workers are making $20,000 a year which is three times more than Peru's average income per capita.  How else will these people find such good jobs? 

Peru's government needs to get its sh*t together and start enforcing some environmental regulations before it kills off all of its natural resources and further impoverishes the country!!! 

# Mike says :
26 May, 2009 [ 13:04 ]

True enough, but remember that the worse offender was the Peruvian government themselves.  They ran the thing for decades before selling it to Doe Run.

While Doe Run has done a better job of running a cleaner place, it does need to fulfill any/all obligations it agreed to as part of the terms of sale.

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