By Rodrigo Sales | AIDA Human Rights Attorney
No matter what they seem to do, Doe Run just can’t seem to find a buyer for the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex.
In July, the last of six scheduled auctions of the 100-year-old smelter again drew no bids, despite concerted efforts by the Peruvian government to attract a buyer.
Peru even lowered air quality standards across the nation in order to make the purchase more attractive, since the La Oroya smelter has for decades pumped out sulphur dioxide levels well above legal limits (even the new ones).
The failure is a blow to President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who drew attention to the smelter during his presidential campaign and has promised to expand the country’s metal refining capacity. He has extended the deadline of sale for another year.
Since the smelter has not been in full operation, air and environmental quality in La Oroya have improved considerably, as have the concentration of heavy metals in the blood of the town’s children.
Allowing the smelter to be reactivated under relaxed environmental standards could drastically reverse that progress.
The new standards were intended to allow a potential investor to operate the smelter without finishing mandatory upgrades, which were in progress when previous owner Doe Run went bankrupt.
So if it were to go back online now, the smelter would once again pump out highly damaging levels of sulphur dioxide and other airborne contaminants.
This would represent yet another violation of the community’s basic rights to life and health, and would be a major regression in terms of environmental protection.
The Technical Environmental Study Group on Air Quality will soon be having a meeting to discuss the flexibility of air quality standards in La Oroya. Our partners at APRODEH hope to attend to discuss the human rights implications of such a decision.
Together we’re continuing to fight to uphold higher standards in La Oroya and to ensure that the people there receive the medical attention they need after a lifetime spent living in a cloud of toxic pollution.
Thank you for joining us and supporting their fight.
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