Doe Run Peru and Peruvian Health Ministry Program a Model for Global Lead Industry
Posted on: Tuesday, 10 January 2006, 12:00 CST
ST. LOUIS, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Doe Run Company recently announced that community programs conducted by its subsidiary, Doe Run Peru, are serving as examples for the global lead industry. A health program run jointly by Doe Run Peru and the Peruvian Ministry of Health (MINSA) in the Andean community of La Oroya is being used as the model for a similar effort at a metallurgical refinery in northern Mexico.
Officials from the Met-Mex Penoles refinery of Coahuila spent three days last year touring La Oroya, to see how the Peruvian program could be applied in communities surrounding the Penoles plant. Children living in Torreon, Mexico, have been found to have high blood lead levels.
Doe Run Peru and MINSA have been working together since 2003 to address blood lead levels in La Oroya. Under the program, Doe Run Peru supports state health officials by providing financial support, assisting on health awareness campaigns with community groups, offering social workers to educate families on good hygiene, and sharing nutrition techniques to combat lead exposure. In addition, the company supports a local soup kitchen that provides a daily meal to hundreds of La Oroya's neediest children.
Peruvian health officials reported last year that a health study they conducted showed signs of progress in lowering blood lead levels among children in La Oroya Antigua, the neighborhood most affected by lead exposure.
Camilo Valdez, sub-director of ecology, security and occupational health at Penoles, said he and his colleagues were impressed by the Peruvian program's multi-pronged approach. "The focus of the program is excellent because it ties in all three sectors: health, education and the company -- they are all taking responsibility in this matter," he said.
Key elements Valdez highlighted included Doe Run Peru's installation of community showers and sinks for hand washing, as well as the joint street- cleaning efforts of Doe Run Peru and the community. He also praised Doe Run Peru's expenditures of more than $140 million in improvements and investments made at the La Oroya Metallurgical Complex. Speaking of the equipment and processes aimed at reducing fugitive emissions, Valdez commented that "the problems are being addressed both from the perspective of the population's hygiene habits, as well as from a reduction in emissions."
He added that Penoles is interested in maintaining dialogue with Doe Run Peru and MINSA, "since we are interested in continuing to monitor the progress, learn from the experiences and apply successful methodologies."
The Met-Mex Penoles refinery is located in Torreon, Coahuila, in northern Mexico, near the U.S. border. Penoles is Mexico's leading smelter and refiner of lead, the largest Latin American producer of lead, and the world's fourth largest producer. Met-Mex Penoles belongs to Industrias Penoles S.A. de CV, based in Mexico City.
When Doe Run bought the government-owned smelter in 1997, the company inherited decades of unchecked pollution. Since then, the company has made steady progress at reducing emissions and improving health conditions. Lead emissions are down more than 27 percent and average blood lead levels of exposed Doe Run Peru workers are down by more than 30 percent.
More information on Doe Run Peru's environmental progress can be found at: http://www.doerun.com/uploadfile/peruprogressupdate-env.pdf , and on its community programs at http://www.doerun.com/uploadfile/PeruProgressupdate-social.pdf .
Based in St. Louis, The Doe Run Company is a privately held natural resources company dedicated to environmentally responsible mineral production, metals fabrication, recycling and reclamation. The company and its subsidiaries deliver products and services needed to provide power, protection and convenience through premium products and associated metals including lead, zinc, copper, gold and silver. As the operator of one of the world's only multi-metal facilities and the Americas' largest integrated lead producer, Doe Run employs more than 4,000 people, with U.S. operations in Missouri, Washington and Arizona, and Peruvian operations in Cobriza and La Oroya. Committed to sustainable development, The Doe Run Company has helped bring electrical power, business training, educational opportunities and improved telecommunications to rural communities in Peru and the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.doerun.com/ .
Contact: Christi Dixon 314-469-3500 http://www.doerun.com/
The Doe Run Company
CONTACT: Christi Dixon of The Doe Run Company, +1-314-469-3500
Web site: http://www.doerun.com/http://www.doerun.com/uploadfile/peruprogressupdate-env.pdfhttp://www.doerun.com/uploadfile/PeruProgressupdate-social.pdf
Source: PRNewswire
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