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The dense green jungle and rust-red elevations of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, lead to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands against the sky.

This industrial unit is largely newly built, but its machinery is not: it originates from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following one of the worst ecological controversies in the nation’s modern record: after decades of producing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for contaminating water resources in an area home to 350,000 residents. In June, its former executives were found guilty at the Vicenza court of causing environmental pollution and additional offenses and given prison sentences, with appeals anticipated.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

And yet, all of the company’s equipment, its intellectual property and processes – everything needed to manufacture Pfas – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between local communities and groves of trees. And the factory has recently begun to produce forever chemicals again.

An Environmental Burden

Previously recognized for its specialism in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated concentrations of Pfas in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of inhabitants had been subjected through drinking water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed among the top levels of Pfas ever recorded in human blood. “When the story came to light, I looked at a list of medical conditions associated with Pfas, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of Pfas in the bloodstream are associated with increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent medical procedure.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and activist with Mothers Against PFAS, began mobilizing after discovering her children’s blood indicated high levels of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as females, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Since our kids are the children of all.”

Business Shift

Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were bought in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a subsidiary of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the public auction. By early 2023, the complete machinery was being shipped heading to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was promoting its recent purchase to investors. Records of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s executives downplayed environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with European standards”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a company established in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was found guilty of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the recent court case and given six years and four months in prison. According to a former mid-level manager speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was taking business trips to India prior to the firm’s collapse.

Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the construction of the factory in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the company was already planning to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer inquiries.

Growth Plans

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy explicitly spelled out the goal to “acquire the customer base of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the manufacturing of Pfas and specialty chemicals. Shipping records show that, to secure validation on the standard of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out test batches to firms with previous commercial ties with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s site in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, producing chemicals that will be utilized for agrochemicals, medicines, colorants, cosmetics and additional goods.

Regulatory Context

Studies have shown that levels of forever chemicals in the environment are worryingly elevated, especially near manufacturing facilities. But even though global focus is increasing, in India the issue is not yet a policy priority.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is absent in such guidelines. It’s not recognised by the national authorities as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have performed research in different states. But this work are restricted in range, and there are still very few of them.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a dismal environmental track record”. After it was established in 1986, “the income source of fisher folk communities in this area totally deteriorated,” she said.

The chemical district is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized.

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in the countryside, the plant cannot function and industries discharge contaminated effluent straight into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have sent multiple notices to the site in the past few years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a plan to prohibit the production, import and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I believe that this matter should be investigated, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and equipment have been transferred to a country like India should prompt consideration, at the very least, on the power that these global corporations have to relocate in nations where there is clearly a race to the bottom in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Persistent Threats

Miteni has shut down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to Pfas production are expected to impact populations that are facing an hazardous setting for generations.

“The area has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s always a risk.”