The easing of new rules on industrial pollution has been criticised for risking the health of Peruvians. The move has been condemned for prioritising investment over human rights.

In mid-July, the Environment Ministry exempted the cities of La Oroya, Arequipa and Ilo from new requirements to cut sulphur dioxide emissions. Industrial managers said it would be impossible for them to achieve the reductions required. Instead the three cities will have to adopt action plans to gradually reduce the levels.

The new standards cut permitted emissions of sulphur dioxide by three quarters, in line with World Health Organisation recommendations. According to press reports, this would mean that the US-owned La Oroya metal processing complex would only be allowed to release 6% of the maximum emissions foreseen by its environmental remediation plan. The levels were first announced in 2008 for implementation by 2014.

La Oroya was identified in the mid-2000s as one of the world’s most polluted cities, following a century of metal smelting in the area. Since 1997 the metal processing complex has been operated by Doe Run Peru, owned by the US Renco Group. After operations were suspended for financial and environmental issues, they have partially resumed rating under the administration of the company’s creditors.

The civil society run Mining Conflicts Observatory condemned the relaxation of the rules and said that Doe Run Peru had “systematically failed to meet its environmental obligations and condemned the population to live in an environment that is harmful for their health.”

A May report by the International Federation for Human Rights called on Renco to abandon its claim for US$800m from the Peruvian state, which it has been pursuing through the World Bank’s investment dispute body (ICSID) since 2011. Both parties accuse each other of failing to fulfil their environmental commitments. The Federation described the action as a case of investor protection threatening human rights.

In early July, a restructuring plan for the La Oroya complex and Doe Run Peru’s Cobriza mine in Huancavelica was agreed by all the company’s creditors, except workers. The company will have until 2030 to pay off its US$600 million debt.