By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO – Saint Louis University researchers say it may be another two months before they'll have results of their study of toxic emissions in a small town in Peru.
Researchers from SLUs School of Public Health were in La Oroya last month testing for levels of lead and other heavy metals in soil, water, homes, and in the residents' blood and urine.
The town, high in the Andes Mountains, is where St. Louis-based Doe Run Company operates a metal smelting plant. The smelter had earlier operators before Doe Run took over in the 1990s.
The archbishop from the community, a Jesuit, along with other Peruvians, were in St. Louis Tuesday to thank the university for its efforts.
At one point during their visit to Peru, members of the research team were assaulted by an angry mob in Peru, but no one was injured.
A legal adviser with a Peruvian archdiocese says the attackers believe the study will result in the closing of the smelter, the town's main employer.