Relief for Lead Victims in La Oroya, Peru

I used to have a coach who’d tell us that every game was comprised of many little battles—that eventually, if you played the game the right way, the little triumphs would add up to a team victory—the ultimate goal. Well, the game is long from over, but the environmental community has just won another small battle.

As recounted in the Earth Justice article, “Peruvian Court Orders Relief for Victims of Lead Poisoning by US-Owned Smelter,” a four year legal battle has just concluded calling for Peru’s Ministry of Health to provide health care and relief to all victims of the lead-poisoning. La Oroya, a small mountain town in Peru, has been enduring the brunt of the lead industry for the last half-century. Smelters and mines have infected the land and the people with lead, causing significant damage to both humans and the landscape. In court, government officials were told to put the public health of their people ahead of any agreement they may have had with the responsible party.

And who, you might ask, is the responsible party in this case? None other than the Missouri-based Doe Run Corporation, who some of you may remember from one of my earlier blogs titled, “America's Largest Lead Producer Must Take Corrective Measures for Environmental Violations to the Tune of $65 Million.” Suffice it to say that Doe Run is no stranger to poisoning a community.

NOTE: Doe Run is owned by the Renco Group, who’s CEO is billionaire Ira Rennert, otherwise known as “America’s Worst Private Polluter.”

A little while ago, I noticed a comment from the Doe Run Corporation after the blog detailing their environmental violation. Obviously, it gave Doe Run some bad press. But there was nothing in the blog that was made up. Facts are facts. It’s not slander if it’s true. So in a world where every corporation must uphold at least an image of serving the public good—even if they have no intention of doing so—they felt the need to respond with this:

“Doe Run is working hard to get within compliance, but it is difficult to mine and process lead and stay within the EPA rules, and still be competitive in the global market. If you notice, they are the only lead company left standing in the U.S. because all of the others have been sued out of business. Doe Run is doing things to reverse the environmental and worker exposure to lead, such as proper signing, communicating and switching to decontamination products and systems that work better. They are now using government recommended Hygenall products for their workers and better air handling systems wash procedures, better waste management practices and they are proactivly working in the streets to mitigate lead.”

The problem with the statement is that in no place does it express remorse over poisoning millions of people. In no place does it say how they intend to help the families poisoned by their mines and smelters. Their focus is staying “competitive in the global market,” or simply put, profiting. The health or well-being of the surrounding populace is not of their concern—or at least it wasn’t. That is until they had to fork over 65 million. Funny how a place like Doe Run changes its tune once they endure a fine of that size. Now image-conscious and environmentally friendly, they’re trying to rebuild their severed brand on our watch? Give me a break.

As that old, punchy coach used to say, “Don’t tell me how you’re going to do something. Show me.”