Notable case, La Oroya, Junín, Peru
La Oroya
An Andean city at 3,745 metres that grew around a metallurgical complex operating since 1922, smelting ores rich in lead, copper, zinc and arsenic. In 2024 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights held Peru responsible for failing to protect its inhabitants.
At a glance
- Status
- Not addressed
- Activity
- since 1922
- People affected
- 33,000 (2024)1
- Media
- air, soil, surface water
- Kind of site
- smelter
- People affected. Population of La Oroya according to the Inter-American Court ('more than 33,000'); the victims recognised in the case number 80.
Contaminants
Status
Not addressed
In 2024 the Inter-American Court found Peru responsible for violating the right to a healthy environment and to health of 80 inhabitants, for failing to regulate and supervise the metallurgical complex. The present state of the plant and soils has not been checked against Peruvian sources.
Story
The La Oroya Metallurgical Complex was started in 1922 by the Cerro de Pasco Corporation with a copper smelter, followed by a lead smelter (1928) and a zinc refinery (1952). Nationalised in 1974, it was run by state-owned Centromin until 1997, when it was bought by Doe Run Peru, which inherited an environmental compliance programme (PAMA).
Emissions contaminated air, water and soil. A 1999 study reported by Wikipedia found arsenic, cadmium and lead at 85, 41 and 13 times the levels considered safe; in 2006 La Oroya was listed among the ten most contaminated cities in the world. In May 2006 Peru's Constitutional Court ordered the state to protect residents' health; the Inter-American Court later found that the ruling had not been properly enforced and that the population carries lead in its blood.
Timeline
- 1922The metallurgical complex starts up.
- 1974Nationalisation; run by Centromin.
- 1997Bought by Doe Run Peru.
- 2006Peruvian Constitutional Court ruling to protect residents' health.
- 2024Inter-American Court of Human Rights judgment notified.
Health
The Inter-American Court found that exposure to lead, cadmium, arsenic and sulphur dioxide is a significant risk to the victims' health and that they did not receive adequate medical care; the effect was greatest on children, women and the elderly, and for two victims the state was held responsible for violating the right to life.
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Agrostis capillarisCommon bentEvidence: field
- Arabidopsis halleriHaller's rockcressEvidence: field
- Cannabis sativaIndustrial hempEvidence: field
- Festuca rubraRed fescueEvidence: field
- Noccaea caerulescensAlpine pennycressEvidence: field
- Populus albaWhite poplarEvidence: field
Fungi
- Funneliformis mosseaeEvidence: greenhouse
- Rhizophagus irregularisEvidence: greenhouse
- Paxillus involutusBrown roll-rimEvidence: greenhouse
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Mucor circinelloidesEvidence: laboratory
- Suillus luteusSlippery jackEvidence: laboratory
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Nearby
Sources
- Press release PR-17/2024: Case of La Oroya Population v. Peru, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 2024
- La Oroya, Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.