A US company has agreed to pay $150 million to 1,373 Peruvians poisoned by lead emissions as children from a smelter in La Oroya (an Andean town listed among the world's ten most polluted places in 2007), closing a 19-year legal battle against Doe Run Company, a subsidiary of US billionaire Ira Rennert's Renco Group. Cardinal Pedro Barreto, who faced death threats for decades while campaigning for justice for La Oroya's residents, called the out-of-court settlement a "historic milestone," though he cautioned that money could not fully compensate for the neurological and developmental harm suffered. The case, described by lead attorney Jerry Schlichter as a landmark moment in holding American corporations accountable for harm caused to foreign citizens in other countries, is one of the longest-running civil lawsuits of its kind, with each plaintiff expected to receive at least $100,000; Doe Run did not admit wrongdoing.