I'm watching CNN's "Planet in Peril" as I write this, and I'm sure the documentary has nothing more shocking than what I just witnessed.. innocent children being killed by lead poisoning because of a company that puts commercial interests before basic human rights. I'm talking about the Doe Run Company which is one of the largest metal refining companies in the world. The company has a refinery in La Oroya, Peru (a city close to the capital Lima) which has caused lead contamination of water and air around the city. CNN's documentary shows heart wrenching images of beautiful children who are going through rehabilitation because lead levels in their blood cause problems with motor skills development (and death in many cases). They are the lucky ones, not all families in La Oroya have the resources to move away from the refinery, and as a consequence they are putting their lives, and the precious lives of their children in jeopardy.
All because, a company doesn't invest just a fraction of their multi billion dollar revenue in environmental-safe technologies that could save lives.
Doe Run hasn't just wreaked havoc in a foreign country.. it has been polluting American soil, water and air for years.. it has a lead smelter in Missouri.. The company has engaged in the practice of buying up homes and properties located on contaminated soil around this smelter.. the EPA did enforce stricter environmetal standards on the US operations, and it is supremely unfair that Doe Run might be using revenue from its Peru operations to fund more environmentally friendly technologies here at home. Why do we need to sacrifice one set of people to save another?
It's disgusting to think that Ira Rennert (the owner of the Renko group that owns Doe Run) lives in one of the largest private residences right here in the United States (he has a huge property in the Hamptons in NY). It is ALSO supremely unfair, that HE is safe from the toxic fumes and contaminated water caused by HIS refineries. Of course, he isn't the only guilty part here. What is the Peruvian government doing?? Doesn't it have the duty to protect its people from detrimental foreign investment? Or has it chosen to take a slice of Doe Run's revenue, and turn a blind eye on the environmental decay of its country, and more importantly the future of its children?
