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The dense tropical forest and rust-red elevations 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 equipment is not: it comes from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following one of the worst environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for polluting water sources in an area home to 350,000 people. In June, its former executives were found guilty at the local tribunal of causing environmental pollution and additional offenses and given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – all required components to manufacture Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among local communities and groves of trees. And the factory has just started to produce forever chemicals again.

An Environmental Burden

Previously recognized for its expertise in developing processes for specialty compounds, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, researchers found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the plant’s wastewater. Hundreds of thousands of residents had been exposed through potable water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its specialty chemicals division, showed one of the highest concentrations of Pfas ever recorded in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I looked at a list of medical conditions related to PFAS, and discovered I had them all,” says Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of Pfas in the blood are linked to higher chances of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent surgical operation.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after learning her children’s blood indicated high levels of forever chemicals. When she learned that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being sent to India, she was shocked.

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

Corporate Transition

After Miteni went bankrupt, its holdings were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the open sale. By early 2023, all the equipment was travelling on freight ships en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to investors. Records of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s executives minimized ecological worries, with its chairman, 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 convicted of ecological offenses and financial misreporting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in jail. According to a ex-supervisor requesting confidentiality, Nardone was taking business trips to India prior to the company went bankrupt.

Although Laxmi bought Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the ecological review for the construction of the factory in Lote shows that in March 2018 the company was already intending to start producing fluorinated compounds matching Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

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 fluorochemicals. Logistics data indicate that, to get approval on the standard of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing samples to firms 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 used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, beauty products and additional goods.

Environmental Oversight

Studies have shown that levels of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s unacknowledged by the national authorities as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have conducted studies in different states. But these studies are limited in scope, and there are still very few of them.”

Local Impact

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 set up in 1986, “the income source of fishing populations in this area completely collapsed,” 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 consistently reported 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 release contaminated effluent directly into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have issued multiple notices to the plant in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a plan to ban the manufacture, import and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the sector to the developing nations, per Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I believe that this matter should be examined, 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 nations where there is clearly a lowering of standards 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 production are expected to impact communities that are facing an hazardous setting for generations.

“The area has experienced sufficient environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”