SLU Research Helps Bring Justice to Peruvian Children Poisoned by Toxic Smelter

SLU Research Helps Bring Justice to Peruvian Children Poisoned by Toxic Smelter

07/13/2026

Saint Louis University Research Demonstrate the Impact of Public Health Research in Action

ST. LOUIS - When an urgent call for help came from the people of an impoverished Peruvian mining town, Saint Louis University answered. The residents of La Oroya, frustrated that no one believed their claims about pollution, sought rigorous scientific research to prove their case to the world.

A 2005 study from Saint Louis University would document the elevated levels of toxic metals found in the blood of the children of La Oroya, helping to bring global attention to the plight of the people of the town.

More than 20 years after the study, members of the research team and faith leaders, including Cardinal Pedro Barreto, S.J., the former archbishop of Huancayo, who helped facilitate the work, gathered in St. Louis to mark the culmination of years of effort, shaped by the Jesuit call to serve the greater good.

"This is where research meets mission," said Fernando Serrano, Ph.D., principal investigator on the study and a former professor in environmental and occupational health at Saint Louis University. "We did it."

SLU President Edward Feser, Ph.D., told the gathered team that the effort reflected the University's mission to educate students to courageously address the challenges of the world in which they live.

"This is the kind of work that makes me proud to be associated with Saint Louis University," he said.

Doe Run Peru, a metal smelter, was Oroya's largest employer in the early 2000s. On June 24, Doe Run Resources, part of the Renco Group, reached a $150 million settlement with 1,373 residents of La Oroya in a case claiming the company's smelter had poisoned them as children growing up near the facility.

The case was brought by St. Louis law firm Schlichter Bogard.

"This resolution is the culmination of 19 years of relentless work to obtain justice for children who were innocent victims of one of the most severe environmental disasters of the modern era," said Schlichter Bogard Co-Managing Partner Jerry Schlichter. "We are deeply proud to have stood with these children, now young adults, for the long haul."

Schlichter credits the SLU study as the foundation of his firm's involvement with the case.

"It's always a tough decision to take on a case like this. The childrens' blood lead level measurements taken by Fernando Serrano and the SLU researchers, despite serious threats, were critical to the decision we made to take on this cause," he said.

A Local Start

In 2004, members of the Joining Hands Initiative of the Presbyterian Church in Peru began hearing from local partners that the people of La Oroya wanted answers to their health concerns and the impact of the Doe Run smelter on their village in the Andes. They reached out to the Centers for Disease Control in the United States on their behalf, only to be told it wasn't something they would take on.

The local archdiocese, led by a Jesuit priest, reached out to Saint Louis University.

At the request of Cardinal Barreto, Serrano, fellow faculty members and a graduate student from SLU's School of Public Health (now the College for Public Health and Social Justice) started researching the impact of the smelter on the health of children. The SLU team included David Sterling, Ph.D., then the director of environmental and occupational health at SLU; Chris King, then-director of SLU's Center for Environmental Education and Training; and graduate student Angela Hobson.

"The Catholic Church of Peru asked us to be with the people of Peru. They wanted the data, and they wanted a microphone to tell the world," Serrano said. "But they had no resources."

SLU Support

Serrano said SLU was all in on the project, and the institutional support from the Provost's Office, his dean, and fellow faculty and staff made the project work.

"I have fond memories of our work together in starting this. I think all the environmental health faculty participated in some way or another," he said. "This is the beauty of a Jesuit school - we are shaped by the call to a greater good."

Serrano was Jesuit-educated in Ecuador before coming to SLU for his doctorate. When then-Monsignor Barreto first approached him in 2004, he was teaching and working on his doctoral dissertation about the economics, politics and health implications of the lead industry in St. Louis, which also had a long history of children impacted by the metal.

High lead levels can affect every system in the human body, including the brain and nervous system, potentially robbing children of intelligence and the ability to think. Arsenic affects the respiratory system and skin, and cadmium affects the kidneys and bones. And all three can cause cancer.

Before the SLU study, the impact of the Doe Run Peru smelter had largely been ignored.

Cardinal Barreto said scientific evidence was very important in turning the tide and drawing the world's attention to the problem.

Serrano and SLU's team of experts went door-to-door, taking blood samples from residents.

On day one, two of the eight teams in the field faced physical and verbal intimidation from mobs who were intent on stopping data collection.

"There were flyers out calling us the 'vampires of Missouri,' seeking to suck the blood of children for profit," Serrano said.

But the people of La Oroya still joined the study.

"They were sick, and they didn't want their children and grandchildren to live in the same situation," Serrano said. "They said that we were collecting the samples that told the truth."

With assistance from bodyguards, Serrano stayed with the coolers full of samples - including while he slept - until they could safely be shipped from Lima to the CDC in Atlanta.

"I took on that risk," he said. "I was the one who jumped in and was leading the study. I spoke Spanish when my SLU colleagues did not. It was my responsibility, and I breathed a sigh of relief when they arrived safely."

Once the CDC had determined the levels of toxic chemicals in the samples, Serrano returned to Peru to share the results with the residents of La Oroya.

The SLU study found high levels of lead in 97 percent of the children's blood, as well as cadmium, arsenic, mercury, cesium and thallium.

"We arranged for each participant to meet confidentially with a doctor and a nurse so they not only knew the study results, but could ask questions about their own health," he said.

Maintaining community support while serving the community was always a part of the plan.

Serrano has returned to La Oroya dozens of times over the years to conduct follow-up research. He has also held a symposium on pollution-related health issues, taught local graduate students how to conduct assessments, and partnered with the local archdiocese and community.

His last visit was in June. "Twenty years later, they are still fighting, and we are still advocating for them."

Cardinal Barreto said he was happy to see justice.

"The Church, with Pope Francis and now Pope Leo, has reaffirmed the dignity of all human lives and that the care for our common home is part of our apostolic work," he said.

Serrano said he was proud of this work.

"SLU did this. The community knows Saint Louis University was there as a partner, and while the arc of environmental justice is long, we kept going."

"It's a remarkable story of children who are victims of lead poisoning living in abject poverty who found their way to an American courtroom 4,000 miles away, maintained a battle against extremely wealthy defendants and five national law firms, and obtained justice after 19 years," Schlichter said. "The entire Saint Louis University community should feel immensely proud of SLU's courageous commitment to social and economic justice, fulfilling its mission of Higher Purpose Greater Good."

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious Catholic research institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers more than 13,300 students a rigorous, transformative education that challenges and prepares them to make the world a better place. As a nationally recognized leader in research and innovation, SLU is an R1 research university, advancing groundbreaking, life-changing discoveries that promote the greater good.