During the 33rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors, held in Cusco, a proposal was put forward to include lead and other heavy metal pollution affecting children as a priority area of work for the Environmental Protection Network.
Lead and other heavy metal pollution pose a threat to public health that transcends borders and requires coordinated responses. In this context, the 33rd Ordinary General Assembly of the Ibero-American Association of Public Prosecutors (AIAMP), held in Cusco from September 30 to October 1, 2026, highlighted the need to address this issue through environmental crime investigations and efforts to protect children’s health.
Peru’s Attorney General, Tomás Aladino Gálvez Villegas, raised concerns about the impact of these contaminants on children, as well as their links to illicit and informal economic activities and the trade in contaminated products. As a result, the Assembly’s Conclusion 28 called on the Environmental Protection Network to include this issue as a priority area in its roadmap for investigating environmental crimes, in accordance with each country’s legal framework.
Pure Earth Peru participated in the Assembly as a cooperating entity, sharing its experience in reducing risks associated with heavy metals and highlighting the importance of strengthening the capacities of institutions responsible for preventing and addressing this issue.
Lead: A Silent Threat to Children’s Health
During his address to the delegations, Rodrigo Velarde, Country Director of Pure Earth Peru, drew attention to the presence of lead in everyday products and the need to identify and control sources of exposure.
Unlike other environmental hazards that may be readily noticeable, lead exposure can go undetected. Potential sources in homes and communities include certain cooking utensils, glazed ceramics, paints, toys, school supplies, and some cosmetic products. Prevention therefore requires identifying these sources and adopting measures to reduce risks, particularly for children.
“Lead doesn’t just harm; lead steals the future,” Velarde said in his speech, referring to the consequences exposure can have on child development and opportunities for future generations. He also emphasized that addressing heavy metals requires the active involvement of justice institutions.
Peru’s Experience: Cooperation to Strengthen Prosecutorial Capacity
Photo: Public Prosecutor’s Office
In his remarks, Velarde shared the partnership between Pure Earth Peru and the country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office as an example of efforts to strengthen the institution’s technical capacity to address lead-related risks.
The two organizations signed an Interinstitutional Cooperation Agreement on May 21, 2026, for a period of two years. The agreement aims to strengthen the capacities of prosecutors, administrative staff, and specialists from the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences through training, technical assistance, and tools for generating technical and scientific information.
As part of this collaboration, Pure Earth Peru is helping introduce specialized technology to detect lead in materials and products. Portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers provide on-site measurements and information that can help guide preventive actions and prosecutorial investigations. “Ultimately, it means giving the justice system a scientific tool to protect health,” Velarde explained.
This tool is particularly valuable when identifying sources of exposure. According to Dr. Alfonso Barrenechea, national coordinator of the specialized crime prevention prosecutor’s offices, conventional testing of certain objects can take several weeks. XRF analyzers, however, can provide real-time information and offer additional technical evidence to guide further action.
“For us, as the Public Prosecutor’s Office, having Pure Earth’s technical advice is valuable, not only in terms of awareness-raising, knowledge, and strengthening our capacity to analyze this issue, but also in terms of having sufficient resources to carry out our work properly and effectively,” Barrenechea emphasized.
The Peruvian experience shows how cooperation between specialized organizations and justice institutions can strengthen technical capacities and support more timely responses to risks affecting public health.
A Call for Regional Cooperation
During his speech, Rodrigo Velarde recalled that heavy metal pollution knows no borders and that its effects can reach communities far from the original sources of contamination. He therefore called on public prosecutors’ offices across the region to consider this issue among their priorities and explore responses within their respective mandates and legal frameworks.
“Every country represented in this room has its own reality, its own laws, and its own procedures. And it is from within those frameworks, not from outside, that each public prosecutor’s office can determine the best path forward,” he said.
The Country Director of Pure Earth Peru concluded his remarks by calling for children’s protection to be at the center of public decision-making: “They do not choose the air they breathe, the water they drink, or the objects that reach their hands. It is up to us—the State, the justice system, and adults—to protect them.”
At Pure Earth, we reaffirm our commitment to working with public institutions and other partners to strengthen technical capacities, help identify sources of exposure, and promote actions that protect community health. Including this issue on the agenda of AIAMP’s Environmental Protection Network could create an opportunity to promote the exchange of experiences and strengthen the regional response to lead and other heavy metal pollution.
Watch the Interview with Dr. Alfonso Barrenechea
As part of this collaboration, we spoke with Dr. Alfonso Barrenechea about the importance of preventing lead exposure, the role of measurement tools in prosecutorial work, and the value of joint efforts between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Pure Earth.
We also discussed the partnership between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Pure Earth Peru, the contribution of technical assistance and measurement tools to prosecutorial work, and the importance of strengthening institutional capacities to address lead pollution.
Watch the full interview:
