Jr. Daniel Alcides Carrión 844 B
Magdalena del Mar
Lima - Perú
Tel. (51+1) 2613037 / 2613061
2006 December:
“Award-Winning Study Finds Disturbing Number of Lead-Poisoned Newborns in La Oroya, Peru,” Hunter Farrell.
Three physicians receive a Peruvian Ministry of Health Award for their findings in La Oroya.
AWARD-WINNING STUDY FINDS DISTURBING NUMBER OF LEAD-POISONED NEWBORNS IN LA OROYA, PERU
Lima, Peru, 5 December 2006, Peru’s Health Ministry today awarded La Oroya physicians Hugo Villa, Godofredo Pebe and Gonzalo Cervantes the 2005 Kaelin Prize for a study in which fully one-fourth of the 93 newborns examined exhibited excessive blood lead levels.
La Oroya, the site of a multi-metal smelter owned by the Doe Run Company of St. Louis, MO, was recently declared to be one of the world’s most contaminated places, according to the Blacksmith Institute of New York City.
“We just wanted to show that newborns in La Oroya are being born with high blood lead levels,” said Dr. Villa in his acceptance speech. The study showed that no baby
was born with less than 6 micrograms of lead/deciliter of blood and that 24.7% presented lead levels higher than the World Health Organization maximum permissible standard of 10 micrograms/deciliter. “The international health community has already recognized that blood lead levels should be lower than 5 micrograms/deciliter.
The study noted that lead poisoning in young children has been proven to cause decreased intelligence, learning problems, hyperactivity, and aggressiveness. According to the Junin Regional Health Office, there are more than 850 babies born in La Oroya hospital each year.
Even more disturbing to La Oroya Catholic parish worker Yolanda Zurita is what the study does not report: “The social security hospital in which Dr. Villa performed his study treats only the 40% of the population who are employed and pay into the system. These people tend to live at a greater distance from the Doe Run smelter and have access to better nutrition.” Zurita added, “What worries me is the poorer 60% of the city, most of whom live in Old La Oroya, in close proximity to the smelter’s fugitive emissions.”
