At least 6,000 families are infected with lead due to mining activity in the Simón Bolívar district, Pasco province in Peru and 35 children have developed cancer for this reason.
Some of the pathologies these children have are leukemia and neoplasms, all due to environmental pollution.
“Environmental institutions are being dismantled on the grounds that investments would be halted if the environment is protected over environmental rights”, a story by Grecia Delta published in the online magazine La Multa, reads.
For her part, the parliamentarian María Elena Foronda said that families who arrive at Lima are requesting health policies for minors as well as compensation for their losses.
La Mula remembers that on February 3 of this year, the Environmental Oversight Agency (OEFA) issued three preventive measures against the mining companies Activos Mineros, Óxidos de Pasco and Empresa Administradora Cerro, located in the Simón Bolívar jurisdiction.
According to the aforementioned website, these companies are responsible for contaminating the soil of two educational centers with lead and it is impossible to apply a monetary sanction “since Law No. 30230, enacted in 2014, is still in force until next July”, they informed. “Therefore, it does not allow a maximum penalty against these companies despite the level of environmental pollution”, they continued.
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