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The lush green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s western shoreline, lead to a small hill where a industrial facility stands under the open sky.

This industrial unit is almost brand new, but its equipment is not: it originates from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following among the most severe ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for contaminating water sources in an region home to 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were found guilty at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and additional offenses and sentenced to jail, which they are expected to appeal against.

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Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – everything needed to manufacture Pfas – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among local communities and wooded areas. And the plant has just started to resume PFAS production.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its expertise in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it left behind. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high levels of PFAS compounds in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of inhabitants had been exposed through potable water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its specialty chemicals division, showed among the top levels of PFAS documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a catalog of health issues related to Pfas, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of Pfas in the blood are associated with increased risk of malignancies, heart conditions, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent medical procedure.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, started organizing after discovering her children’s blood showed high levels of persistent pollutants. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as women, our concern has grown,” she said. “Because our children are the children of all.”

Business Shift

After Miteni went bankrupt, its assets were bought in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a subsidiary of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the public auction. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was promoting its new acquisition to investors. Transcripts of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s executives downplayed environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with EU regulations”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a company established in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was found guilty of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the June trial and sentenced to six years and four months in jail. 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.

While Laxmi purchased Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the ecological review for the construction of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy clearly outlined the objective to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and become a leader in the manufacturing of Pfas and fluorochemicals. Logistics data indicate that, to get approval on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out samples to companies with past business relationships with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, cosmetics and other products.

Environmental Oversight

Investigations demonstrate that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the environment are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is absent in such guidelines. It’s not recognised by the Indian government as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Autonomous study teams across India have conducted studies in different states. But these studies are limited in scope, and there are still very few of them.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, head of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a poor ecological history”. After it was set up in 1986, “the income source of fisher folk communities in this region totally deteriorated,” she said.

The industrial area is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been at the forefront of complaints.

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a frequent event in the countryside, the facility cannot function and factories release polluted water directly into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have sent several warning letters to the site in recent years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a plan to ban the production, import and use of over ten thousand forever chemicals. This scrutiny may be pushing the industry to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I believe that this issue should be examined, because the reality that Miteni’s production, patents and equipment have been transferred to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, minimally, on the influence that these global corporations have to relocate in countries where there is clearly a race to the bottom in terms of environmental protection.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has closed down, but the firm’s harmful impact continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects linked to PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact communities that are already struggling with an unsafe environment for years to come.

“That region has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”