La Oroya Haunted By Environmental Disaster

La Oroya, Peru may be a town that many in the U.S. have never heard of, but it’s quickly become well known as the site of an environmental disaster many would prefer be kept quiet.

The city is host to Doe Run, a polymetallic smelter that handles the processing of a number of different industrial metals, including copper, zinc and lead. The site has been described by a number of different environmental groups as one of the most polluted places in the world, a suspicion that Parker Waichman, LLP, Sr. Litigation Counsel Mike Hugo says is shown in widespread health problems borne by residents there.

“La Oroya is a city that’s the closest to what you would envision hell to look like. Mountains, which are famous for lush forestation and huge plants, all of a sudden stop. Peaks of 14,000 feet consist of no vegetation and are covered by lead,” he said. “Everything that’s alive in the entire town has been affected by lead. Children, dogs, farm animals, crops – everything that lives is poisoned.”

When Hugo visited the city to investigate the allegations of widespread health issues, he expected to hear a number of different people describe what it was like to be exposed to toxic levels of lead. Instead, the welcoming committee was an unwelcoming mob.

“We were greeted by 300 to 400 demonstrators who screamed in unison ‘La Oroya’s not for sale.’ Resistance to our entry was so strong, we needed an escort into the room where we anticipated a reception with parents. We could see that probably 20 percent of attendees were there to hear lawyers talk about the case, but the other 80 percent were chanting and doing all they could to break us up,” he said.

While the easy thing would have been to give up and leave, Hugo said he and others in his delegation decided it was more important to drive home the fact that the U.S.- based Renco Group Inc., which owns Doe Run, must hear their message.

“About 50 percent of Renco’s income comes from this facility, so we wanted to tell them that as a global company, they have a responsibility to treat everyone with the same level of respect,” Hugo said.

“We want Peruvians treated exactly the same as Americans by an American company. We want no further exploitation of the people.