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The dense tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s western shoreline, give way to a modest rise where a factory looms under the open sky.

This industrial unit is largely newly built, but its machinery is far from new: it originates from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 after one of the worst ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the company’s management was prosecuted for polluting water resources in an region inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, its former executives were convicted at the local tribunal of environmental damage and additional offenses and sentenced to jail, which they are expected to appeal against.

What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?

Nevertheless, all of the company’s equipment, its patents and processes – all required components to manufacture forever chemicals – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among villages and groves of trees. And the plant has recently begun to resume PFAS production.

An Environmental Burden

Previously recognized for its expertise in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now notorious for the toxic legacy it left behind. In 2011, researchers found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of inhabitants had been exposed through drinking water.

The worst-affected 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. “After the facts emerged, I reviewed a list of medical conditions related to PFAS, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti.

High levels of Pfas in the blood are associated with increased risk of malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and activist with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after discovering her children’s blood showed elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she learned that Miteni’s proprietary information and equipment were being transferred to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as women, our concern has grown,” she said. “Because our children are everyone’s children.”

Business Shift

After Miteni went bankrupt, its assets were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a subsidiary of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the open sale. By the start of 2023, all the equipment was travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was promoting its new acquisition to shareholders. Transcripts of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s management downplayed environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with European standards”.

Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity established in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive 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. Per a ex-supervisor speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was traveling for work to India prior to the company went bankrupt.

While Laxmi bought Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the factory in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the company was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorinated compounds compatible with Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined the objective to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and become a leader in the manufacturing of Pfas and fluorochemicals. Shipping records indicate that, to secure validation on the standard of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out test batches to companies with past business relationships with Miteni, including BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, manufacturing substances that will be utilized for agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, colorants, beauty products and additional goods.

Regulatory Context

Investigations demonstrate that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, particularly around production sites. But although global focus is increasing, in India the issue is not on the political agenda yet.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is not present in such guidelines. It’s unacknowledged 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 various regions. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.”

Regional Consequences

Parineeta Dandekar, head of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a poor ecological history”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations in this region totally deteriorated,” she said.

The chemical district is dependent on a shared effluent treatment facility that has been at the forefront of complaints.

“The local villages have always stated that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a frequent event in the countryside, the facility fails to operate and industries discharge contaminated effluent directly into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have issued several warning letters to the plant in the past few years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a plan to ban the manufacture, import and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be pushing the sector to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I think that this issue should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, patents and equipment have been transferred to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the influence that these global corporations have to move in countries where there is clearly a race to the bottom in terms of environmental protection.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has shut down, but the firm’s harmful impact continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with PFAS manufacturing are likely to affect populations that are already struggling with an hazardous setting for years to come.

“The area has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms move in, it’s perpetually concerning.”