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The lush tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, give way to a modest rise where a factory looms against the sky.

The factory is largely newly built, but its machinery is far from new: it originates from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 after among the most severe environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for contaminating water resources 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 given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against.

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And yet, the entire operational setup, its patents and processes – everything needed 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 just started to resume PFAS production.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its expertise in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now notorious for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated levels of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Hundreds of thousands of residents had been subjected through drinking water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed one of the highest concentrations of PFAS documented in blood samples. “After the facts emerged, I reviewed a catalog of health issues associated with Pfas, and found out I had them all,” states Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the bloodstream are linked to increased risk of cancer, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, reproductive disorders and more. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent medical procedure.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, began mobilizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests showed elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she learned that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as females, our anxiety has increased,” 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 branch 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. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. Transcripts of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s management downplayed ecological worries, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “operating lawfully according to EU regulations”.

Goenka is a member on the directorate of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity established in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was found guilty of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the recent court case and given six years and four months in jail. According to a ex-supervisor speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was taking business trips to India prior to the firm’s collapse.

While Laxmi bought Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the plant in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the firm was already planning to start producing fluorinated compounds compatible with Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan 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 indicate that, to secure validation on the quality of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out test batches to firms with previous commercial ties with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s site in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, manufacturing substances that will be utilized for agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, cosmetics and other products.

Regulatory Context

Investigations have shown that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are worryingly elevated, particularly around production sites. But although international attention is growing, in India the issue 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 environmental chemist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Independent research groups across India have conducted studies in different states. But these studies are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator 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 fisher folk communities in this area totally deteriorated,” she said.

The industrial area is served by a centralised wastewater treatment plant that has been frequently criticized.

“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 discharge contaminated effluent straight into the streams.” Environmental authorities have sent several warning letters to the site in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a proposal to ban the manufacture, 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 legal scholar at the academic institution. “I believe that this issue should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and equipment have been transferred to a country like India should prompt consideration, minimally, on the power that these multinationals have to relocate in countries where there is evidently a lowering of standards in terms of environmental protection.”

Persistent Threats

Miteni has shut down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the contaminated site 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.

“The area has seen enough ecological damage by now,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”