🔗 Share this article To Which Location Does a Western Chemical Plant Which Polluted Drinking Water Go Next? Heading to India The lush tropical forest and rust-red elevations of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, lead to a small hill where a industrial facility stands under the open sky. The factory is almost brand new, but its equipment is far from new: it originates from the defunct Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 after one of the worst ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after decades of producing persistent PFAS compounds, the company’s management was prosecuted for contaminating water sources in an area home to 350,000 people. In June, previous company leaders were found guilty at the Vicenza court 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 patents and methods – all required components to produce forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, wedged between local communities and wooded areas. And the plant has recently begun to resume PFAS production. A Toxic Legacy Once known for its expertise in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now notorious for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high levels of PFAS compounds in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of residents had been subjected through potable water. The worst-affected were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its fluorinated chemical department, showed among the top levels of Pfas ever recorded in human blood. “After the facts emerged, I looked at a list of medical conditions related to Pfas, and discovered I had them all,” says Ermetti. Ex-employee Ilario Ermetti had elevated levels of Pfas in his blood. Elevated concentrations of Pfas in the blood are linked to increased risk of cancer, heart conditions, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure. Community Concerns Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and activist with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after discovering her offspring’s blood tests indicated elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being sent to India, she was shocked. “Being parents, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Since our kids are everyone’s children.” Business Shift Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the public auction. By the start of 2023, all the equipment was travelling on freight ships en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was promoting its recent purchase to shareholders. Transcripts of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s management 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 directorate of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity founded in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive 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 prison. Per a former mid-level manager speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was taking business trips to India months before the firm’s collapse. Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the ecological review 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 become a leader in the production of PFAS and specialty chemicals. Logistics data show that, to secure validation on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing test batches to companies with previous commercial ties with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC. From the beginning of 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, manufacturing substances that will be utilized for agrochemicals, medicines, dyes, beauty products and additional goods. Regulatory Context Investigations demonstrate that levels of forever chemicals in the environment are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But even though global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet. “If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is absent 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. “Independent research groups across India have performed research in various regions. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still very few of them.” 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 livelihood of fisher folk communities in this area totally deteriorated,” she said. The industrial area is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized. “Nearby communities have always stated that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a frequent event in the countryside, the plant fails to operate and factories release polluted water straight into the streams.” Environmental authorities have sent several warning letters to the plant in the past few years. International Ramifications In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a proposal to prohibit the production, import and utilization of over ten thousand forever chemicals. This attention may be driving the industry to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the University of Padua. “I believe that this matter should be examined, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and equipment have been transferred to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the influence that these multinationals have to relocate in countries where there is clearly a race to the bottom in terms of ecological safeguards.” Persistent Threats Miteni has closed down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact populations that are facing an unsafe environment for years to come. “The area has seen enough ecological damage by now,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies move in, it’s perpetually concerning.”