Eighteen congressional representatives from the U.S. sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner, to criticize the dealings of Doe Run Peru.

According to El Comercio, the letter requested the U.S take action in solving the problem of lead contamination affecting the city of La Oroya, where Doe Run Peru operates.

"We believe that the poor environmental performance of this company negatively affects America's image in Peru and in Latin America, and threatens the credibility of U.S. efforts to promote responsible investment abroad," the letter said.

The letter also highlights the environmental situation in La Oroya, and says that according to a 2005 study carried out by the University of Missouri-St Louis, 97 percent of children under the age of 6 have high lead content in their blood, as a result of operations at La Oroya.

According to EL Comercio, Jose Mogrovejo, VP of Environmental Affairs at Doe Run Peru, said the company did not believe the letter affected the restructuring of the company in Peru.

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