🔗 Share this article

The dense tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s west coast, give way to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands under the open sky.

This industrial unit is largely newly built, but its equipment is far from new: it originates from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following one of the worst ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for polluting water resources in an area inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the local tribunal of environmental damage and other charges and sentenced to jail, with appeals anticipated.

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

Nevertheless, all of the company’s equipment, its intellectual property and methods – all required components to manufacture Pfas – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave thousands of miles distant, wedged between local communities and wooded areas. And the factory has recently begun to resume PFAS production.

An Environmental Burden

Once known for its expertise in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated concentrations of PFAS compounds in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of inhabitants had been exposed through drinking water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its specialty chemicals division, displayed one of the highest concentrations of PFAS ever recorded in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a catalog of health issues related to PFAS, and discovered I had them all,” states Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the bloodstream are associated with increased risk of cancer, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent surgical operation.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and activist with Mamme No Pfas, began mobilizing after discovering her children’s blood showed elevated amounts of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned.

“As mothers, as females, our concern has grown,” she said. “Because our children are everyone’s children.”

Business Shift

After Miteni went bankrupt, its assets were bought in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a subsidiary of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the open sale. By the start of 2023, all the equipment was being shipped en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. Transcripts of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s executives minimized environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with EU regulations”.

Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity founded in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was found guilty of ecological offenses and false accounting 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 firm’s collapse.

Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the construction of the plant in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the company was already planning to start producing fluorinated compounds matching Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to inquiries.

Growth Plans

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy clearly outlined the goal to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the manufacturing of Pfas and specialty chemicals. Shipping records indicate that, to get approval on the quality of the compounds, 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 site in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, manufacturing substances that will be utilized for pesticides, pharmaceuticals, colorants, beauty products and other products.

Regulatory Context

Studies have shown that levels of forever chemicals in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But even though international attention is increasing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s not recognised by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Autonomous study teams across India have performed research in various regions. But these studies are restricted in range, and there are still only a handful.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, head of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a dismal environmental track record”. After it was set up in 1986, “the livelihood of fisher folk communities in this region totally deteriorated,” she said.

The chemical district is served by 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. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in the countryside, the plant cannot function and factories discharge contaminated effluent directly into the streams.” Environmental authorities have issued multiple notices to the site in the past few years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a plan to ban the production, import and utilization of more than 10,000 forever chemicals. This attention may be driving the industry to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I think that this issue should be examined, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and equipment have been relocated to a nation like India should prompt consideration, at the very least, on the power that these multinationals have to relocate in nations where there is clearly a race to the bottom in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has shut down, but the company’s toxic legacy lives on – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts associated with PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact populations that are facing an hazardous setting for generations.

“That region has seen enough ecological damage by now,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”