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World's worst polluted places - La Oroya is among them

La Oroya in the Peruvian Andes is number five of the world's worst polluted places Photo: AP

(LIP-wb) -- Lead, cadmium, mercury, dirty air and radioactivity - some places on our globe can be referred to as "hell on Earth".

Environmentalists from the Blacksmith Institute have now assembled a list of the earth's ten most polluted places.

It comes to no surprise that Chernobyl, Ukraine, still tops this list after the world's worst nuclear disaster took place there on April 26, 1986.

A place in the Peruvian Andes is also on that list in the Number five spot: La Oroya.

This is an excerpt from the Institute's website:

Potentially affected people: 35,000

Type of pollutants: Lead, copper, zinc, and sulfur dioxide.

Site description: Since 1922, adults and children in La Oroya, Peru - a mining town in the Peruvian Andes and the site of a poly-metallic smelter - have been exposed to the toxic emissions from the plant. Currently owned by the Missouri-based Doe Run Corporation, the plant is largely responsible for the dangerously high blood lead levels found in the children of this community. Ninety-nine percent of children living in and around La Oroya have blood lead levels that exceed acceptable amounts, according to studies carried out by the Director General of Environmental Health in Peru in 1999. Lead poisoning is known to be particularly harmful to the mental development of children. A survey conducted by the Peruvian Ministry of Health in 1999 revealed blood lead levels among local children to be dangerously high, averaging 33.6 micrograms/deciliter for children between the ages 6 months to ten years, triple the WHO limit of 10 micrograms/deciliter.

Sulfur dioxide concentrations also exceed the World Health Organization emissions standards by ten fold. The vegetation in the surrounding area has been destroyed by acid rain due to high sulfur dioxide emissions. To date, the extent of soil contamination has not been studied and no plan for reduction of emissions has been agreed or implemented.

Numerous studies have been carried out to assess the levels and sources of lead and other metals still being deposited in La Oroya. Limited testing has revealed lead, arsenic and cadmium soil contamination throughout the town. However, all of these studies were focused on outdoor contamination and suspected severe indoor air pollution has not yet been assessed in detail.

Cleanup Activity: Peru's Clean Air Act cites La Oroya in a list of Peruvian towns suffering critical levels of air pollution, but action to clean up and curtail this pollution has been delayed for the 35,000 inhabitants. In 2004, Doe Run Corporation asked the government for a four year extension to the plants environmental management plan. A concerted NGO movement is now underway to pressure the company and the government to develop effective strategies for implementation of site remediation agreements and to provide health care for affected residents.


- see the top ten list here -

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# Hunter Farrell says :
23 October, 2006 [ 11:10 ]

Thank you for your coverage of the troubling news that La Oroya is among the world's worst polluted places.

There's a lot more to the story, which has been covered by The Lancet, CBS News, NPR, Vanity Fair, nearly one hundred U.S. newspapers, and in an award-winning article in Gatopardo: the worst aspects of economic globalization which juxtapose thousands of lead-posioned children with profits that would make Bill Gates blush.

When you're interested in covering it, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Hunter Farrell
Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and
Movement for Health of La Oroya
tel. 333 0152

# Barb Shepard says :
24 October, 2006 [ 15:52 ]

Dear Editor:

Thank you for covering news about The Doe Run Company’s subsidiary operations abroad. We appreciate your interest in learning more and we welcome the opportunity to provide additional, yet often overlooked, information about our facility in La Oroya, Peru. We hope the following will help in clarifying some of the claims in the Blacksmith Institute’s report. In addition, we’ve added you to our regular distribution list for company news.

The Doe Run Company has always been committed to the safety and welfare of our employees, their families, and the local community. Since purchasing the La Oroya facility in 1997, we have made significant progress in improving the quality of life for the people of La Oroya. To date:

- We have already reduced lead emissions by almost a third since our arrival. By the end of 2006, we expect to bring lead emissions to within Peruvian environmental guidelines.
- More than $100 million has been invested to correct the decades of unchecked pollution Doe Run Peru inherited from the Peruvian government and prior owners.
- Since 1997, we have seen worker blood lead levels decrease by 30 percent, a testament to safety practices, facility upgrades and hygiene programs.
- More than $500,000 in financial and additional support has been provided annually for measures to more effectively control blood lead levels such as medical facilities, blood testing materials, and in-home education for families on diet, nutrition, and hygiene – all of which are important in reducing blood lead levels.

Doe Run Peru received a three-year extension of the PAMA (the operating agreement set forth by the Peruvian government to upgrade the facility) for one of the nine PAMA projects in La Oroya--we are on track to complete the other eight on time. The remaining project, a sulfuric acid plant, is already underway. This reprioritization of projects was done so that Doe Run Peru could better address the more pressing need, lead emissions.

In addition to ensuring the health and safety of the community, Doe Run Peru is working with government officials, national and international organizations, and universities to build a strong economic and social foundation for La Oroya. We have made significant contributions to community programs, including:
- vocational training for women
- the refurbishment of local schools
- the reforestation of public spaces; and
- the establishment of public parks, bathrooms, and laundry facilities.

Currently, Doe Run Peru is working with the National University of the Center of Peru to support sustainable economic development programs in 13 communities in the Yauli-La Oroya Province, and with the Universidad del Pacifico and the Wharton School to improve the productivity of local silver artisans. The company intends to stay in Peru and to continue building a business that gives important support to a vibrant community.

The Doe Run Company remains committed to meeting our environmental obligations and minimizing the impact of our operations; however, we recognize it requires the efforts of others to resolve all of the issues in the community. Doe Run Peru will continue to work with the government to address the people’s needs and welcomes the participation of those interested in bringing constructive solutions to the people of La Oroya.

Again, we thank you for your interest in Doe Run Peru as we continue our progress there.

Sincerely,


Barb Shepard
Vice President, Human Resources and Community Relations
The Doe Run Company

P.S. We invite you to visit our Viewpoints page at www.doerun.com/news/viewpoints.aspx, which contains some outside perspectives on the progress that has been made.

# milagros says :
4 November, 2007 [ 17:39 ]

bueno nunca habia conosido un lugar tan bonito como oroya y lo qno me gusta es hace mucho frio.jijiji......y los recomiendo q conocan oroya lo q es muy xebre las discos .

# gringo says :
31 August, 2008 [ 17:28 ]

Doe Run has done some work to address one of the worlds most polluted cities, but independant studies continue to find RECORD levels of sulfur coming from the operation. Doe Run is no stranger to lawsuits either. They have been sued in their own state for poisening more than 30,000 people with lead particulate. This is a company with only 4,000 employees and $4,000,000,000 in profits in 2007. That's enough to pay every employee a $1 million dollar salary. I'm sure their goal is to suck as much profit out of Peru as they can and then bail. The CEO A. Bruce Neil is nothing more than a slum lord.