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The lush tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s western shoreline, lead to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands under the open sky.

This industrial unit is largely newly built, but its machinery is not: it originates from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following among the most severe ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after decades of producing 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 convicted at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and additional offenses and sentenced to jail, which they are expected to appeal against.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

Nevertheless, all of the company’s equipment, its patents and methods – all required components to produce forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among villages and wooded areas. And the plant has just started to produce forever chemicals again.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its specialism in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now notorious for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, researchers found exceptionally elevated concentrations of PFAS compounds in the plant’s wastewater. Hundreds of thousands of residents had been subjected through drinking water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed among the top levels of PFAS documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I looked at 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 linked to higher chances of cancer, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after discovering her offspring’s blood tests indicated elevated amounts of persistent pollutants. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being sent to India, she was stunned.

“As mothers, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Because our children are the children of all.”

Corporate Transition

Following Miteni’s insolvency, its holdings were acquired in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a subsidiary of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the public auction. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was travelling on freight ships en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to shareholders. Records of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s management minimized environmental concerns, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “operating lawfully according to EU regulations”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the directorate of Laxmi Organic Italy, a company founded in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was convicted of ecological offenses and financial misreporting at the recent court case and given six years and four months in prison. According to a former mid-level manager requesting confidentiality, Nardone was taking business trips to India months before the company went bankrupt.

While Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the ecological review for the building of the factory in Lote shows that in March 2018 the company was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer inquiries.

Growth Plans

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined the objective to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the manufacturing of Pfas and fluorochemicals. Shipping records show that, to secure validation on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing test batches to firms with previous commercial ties with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, producing chemicals that will be utilized for pesticides, medicines, dyes, cosmetics and additional goods.

Environmental Oversight

Investigations demonstrate that levels of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, especially near production sites. 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 not present in such guidelines. It’s unacknowledged by the Indian government as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “Independent research groups across India have conducted studies in different states. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.”

Regional Consequences

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a poor ecological history”. After it was established 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.

“The local villages have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in the countryside, the plant fails to operate and factories discharge contaminated effluent straight into the waterways.” Regulatory bodies have issued multiple notices to the plant in the past few years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is reviewing a plan to prohibit the manufacture, importation and use of more than 10,000 persistent compounds. This attention may be pushing the industry to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I believe that this issue should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and machinery have been relocated to a nation like India should prompt consideration, minimally, on the power that these global corporations have to relocate in countries where there is clearly a lowering of standards in terms of environmental protection.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has closed down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts associated with Pfas production are expected to impact populations that are facing an unsafe environment for years to come.

“That region has experienced sufficient environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s always a risk.”