Mine pit pollutes Andean city

摘要

A Peruvian city is being eroded and polluted by a nearby mine pit. Residents of Cerro de Pasco, located 14,000 feet above sea level in the Andes, are used to living next to the mine with its heavy machinery that emits smoke into the air and debris into the water. The mine was opened in 1956, bringing multiple environmental hazards to a city founded 500 years ago when the Spanish found silver there. The water in Cerro de Pasco is a purple color and even boiling it does not remove the metallic components. Children there have three times the safe limit of lead in their bodies and often have brain damage and learning disabilities.