Monday, 22 August 2005

“Signs of the Truth in La Oroya,” by Raul Mayo Filio, El Comercio.

The story of the St. Louis University researchers in La Oroya and an interview with the Archbishop of Huancayo.

“Signs of the Truth in La Oroya”

A team from St. Louis University in Missouri recently commenced a study to determine if lead is present in the population of Oroya. However, there are some who are not in favor of the project.

The scientists not only had to endure insults but also a rain of eggs being thrown at them by those who are convinced that the mine in Oroya will close if lead is proven to be in the blood of the population. Nevertheless, the team did not take the threats too seriously as they had a job to do to complete their planned objective: to collect samples of blood, urine, water and dirt in order to determine the level of contamination that affects La Oroya’s inhabitants.

The research team came from the University of Saint Louis in the United States, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Huacayo, Monsignor Pedro Barreto Jimeno. The specialists are working with the hypothesis that La Oroya’s people not only have high levels of lead in their blood but may also be affected by 13 other toxic metals, and the possibility exists that the contamination in the area surrounding La Oroya may extend 70 miles into the Mantaro River valley.

The study may prove that the population’s blood contains lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, indium, uranium, nickel, platinum, as well as other elements such as sulfur dioxide among others.

Professor Fernando Serrano, director of the study of ‘Environmental Contamination Of Oroya and Concepcion Homes and Its Affect On The Health Of Its Residents’, as well as the director of the research team, stated that the samples collected between August 15-20 from both locations will be analyzed at St. Louis University’s Medical School.

After three months, the results from the study willbe made public and will immediately be given to Peru’s Minister of Health, Pilar Mazzeti.

What had initially caused fear in the population was transformed into a voluntary collaboration that surpassed expectations. In Oroya, the original plan was to take samples from 138 families, but the final figure was 170; and in the village of Concepcion, samples were taken from 120 families-- up from the 100 families planned. The study looks at four age groups: from 6 months – 6 years; from 6 – 12 years; from 12 – 18 years; and from 18 - 65 years.

During the time it took to retrieve the samples, a team of eight professionals including medical and technical staff from the American university, worked with 16 medical and laboratory specialists from Huancayo as well as nearly 50 Catholic young people, and other volunteers from Oroya and Conception assisted with the study.

Fernando Serrano noted that the study will determine the level of contamination in the population and the results should provide knowledge as to the effectiveness of current programs of decontamination. It will also contribute to the planning of heavy metal poison prevention programs and for the treatment of those affected by the toxins.

This is the first serious investigation of its kind carried out in Peru, and the first in the world with such international support. St. Louis University has 10 years of research experience in this field and the study received the approval of the Society of Health Studies in the USA.

The samples will also be analyzed in the laboratories of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. It should only take three months to discover the truth.

More information

•The results of the study will serve to help decontaminate the Mantaro River, as was done with the Rhine River in Germany and the “My River” campaign in Colombia.
•The experts indicate that in order to solve the problem, this environmental health diagnosis, a proposal to reduce contamination, and international support to cover the cost-- in addition to Peruvian support—are all required.

by Raul Mayo Filio
El Comercio -- Lima, Peru