"Marketplace" report on La Oroya, Peru

Today, the American Public Media radio show "Marketplace" aired a story on La Oroya, Peru, probably the most polluted place I've ever visited. The American owners, Doe Run may be taking steps to improve the situation, but clearly, for those living in this city, each day is a struggle to survive and to correct the dubious accounting of corporate balance sheets.

You can read Jon Miller's full dispatch (from which the above report is taken) on "Frontline's World" site.

See also the story "Lead Astray" with appeared in the November/December 2006 issue of "Mother Jones".

Here are some comments I made in November 2005:

I snuck into Doe Run's grounds to take this picture of the bucket conveyor delivering slag to enormous piles. I very quickly found myself choking from the sulfur dioxide in the air. It attacks the mucous membranes in the nasal passages, throat and lungs. In the background, behind the plant, is the town of La Oroya. Though the SO2 may be the most obvious hazardous emission, lead poisoning is the primary concern for the community. Most children in La Oroya have elevated levels of lead in their blood. The CDC went to La Oroyo this year and found no plan in place to address lead and other contaminants. Doe Run is in the process of implementing CDC's recommendations. (By Doe Run's own measurements though, the maximum allowable SO2 emissions are 195 tons per day, September's actuals - the last month on their chart - were 803 tons per day! SO2 is produced when lead ore is sintered in ovens to remove the sulfur.)