Billionaire Ira Rennert Agrees to $150 Million Settlement Over Peru Smelter Pollution Claims
American billionaire Ira Rennert has agreed to a $150 million settlement to resolve more than 1,300 claims alleging that a lead smelter operated by his company in Peru exposed residents to toxic pollution, ending a legal battle that has spanned nearly two decades. The agreement was reached just days before the first trial was set to begin in a federal court in St. Louis, Missouri.
The settlement involves Doe Run Resources, a subsidiary of Rennert’s Renco Group, and covers claims from approximately 1,373 residents of La Oroya, a mining town in the Peruvian Andes. Plaintiffs alleged that emissions from the smelter caused long-term health problems, particularly among children exposed to lead, arsenic, cadmium, and other hazardous substances.
The lawsuits were first filed in 2007 and accused the company of failing to adequately control pollution from the La Oroya smelter, which Doe Run Peru operated after acquiring the facility from the Peruvian government in 1997. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs described the settlement as a significant step toward justice for affected families after 19 years of litigation.
Doe Run stated that it chose to settle the claims to move beyond the long-running dispute and focus on its future operations. The company has maintained that it invested hundreds of millions of dollars in environmental improvements at the facility and argued that historical pollution issues predated its ownership.
While the settlement resolves a substantial portion of the claims, thousands of additional lawsuits related to the La Oroya smelter reportedly remain pending. The case has drawn international attention as one of the most significant efforts to hold a U.S.-based business accountable in American courts for alleged environmental damage abroad.
The agreement closes a major chapter in a case that has become a landmark example of cross-border environmental litigation and corporate accountability in the mining and metals sector.