The company Doe Run has shut down its smelter in the Peruvian city of La Oroya. The smelter is responsible for making La Oroya one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, leading to astonishing rates of birth defects and other health problems for the inhabitants.

The Peruvian government recently mandated that Doe Run clean up its pollution at La Oroya by October, or lose its license to operate. Citing financial difficulties due to the global recession and an anticipated failure to meet the cleanup deadline, the company preemptively shut down the smelter on June 3.

Participants at an indigenous summit recently called for the creation of an interantional tribunal to try companies for crimes against nature, citing the case of Doe Run and La Oroya.