The second documentary in the series “Planet in Peril: Battlelines” will show conflicts related to the management of natural resources in 13 countries and will premier worldwide on December 11th. It will include a report about the contamination that affects the population of La Oroya due to mining activity.
“We have traveled around the world, including Peru, to try to show the people, the battles waged for resources and the sources of energy. We have visited the Arctic, Africa, Asia and South America”, explained Cooper from his New York office.
During the filming, in March and April of this year, Cooper’s team (formed by prestigious journalists like Sanjay Gupta and Lisa Ling) conducted a series of analyses on the people of La Oroya, which rendered horrifying results. 97% of the children suffer levels of lead that exceed the World Health Organization’s permitted levels. In addition to lead exposure, researchers have found high levels of cyanide and arsenic in the water and sulfur dioxide in the air. The consequences: early death, cancer, and neurological, cardiac, respiratory and gastrointestinal disease.
Sanjay Gupta went to La Oroya to see the impact of a mining company on this community. Scores of people, including children and women, have been found with high levels of lead contamination. Later we made a parallel between this case and the other company in the United States that has operated cleaner. There is a really big problem in La Oroya.
The problem has expanded some 80 kilometers along the Mantaro River and has contaminated more communities. People have tried to lift their voices and have been threatened and harassed, but at the same time the people say that if the company leaves, they will be left without work. This case needs the attention of the international community.