The Andean Town at the Center of Peru’s Pollution Dilemma [View all]
Last edited Sun Jul 31, 2016, 11:54 PM - Edit history (1)
The Andean Town at the Center of Peru’s Pollution Dilemma
New president wants to ease air-quality rules and revive smelter whose closure gutted La Oroya’s economy
A view over the La Oroya smelter in central Peru. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski wants to restart operations at the plant to revive the town’s economy. Photo: Ryan Dube/The Wall Street Journal
By
Ryan Dube
July 31, 2016 5:25 p.m. ET
LA OROYA, Peru—For years, the people of this bleak Andean town wedged between barren mountains have seen jobs disappear as operations at a smelter that once drove the local economy all but shut down.
Peru’s new president, former Wall Street executive Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, promises to change all that. But he says Peru needs to relax air-quality standards to attract investors to buy and restart the century-old complex, which processes mineral concentrates into high-value metals for export.
. . .
The smelter’s imposing smokestack, built in 1922, used to emit toxic fumes that poisoned residents and stunted the development of children, a problem so severe the town attracted researchers from around the world.
Hugo Villa, neurologist who worked in La Oroya for 30 years, found many babies were poisoned with lead while still in their mother’s womb.
More:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-andean-town-at-the-center-of-perus-pollution-dilemma-1470000338
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1127103843
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