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The lush tropical forest and reddish-brown elevations of Lote, located on India’s west coast, give way to a small hill where a industrial facility stands against the sky.

This industrial unit is almost brand new, but its equipment is far from new: it comes from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following one of the worst environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for contaminating water resources in an region inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the local tribunal of environmental damage and other charges and given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

Nevertheless, all of the company’s equipment, its patents and processes – all required components to produce Pfas – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between villages and groves of trees. And the factory has just started to produce forever chemicals again.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its specialism in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it left behind. In 2011, researchers found exceptionally elevated levels of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants had been subjected through drinking water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed among the top levels of Pfas documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a catalog of health issues related to Pfas, and found out I had them all,” states 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 currently recovering from a recent medical procedure.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after discovering her offspring’s blood tests showed elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being sent to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as women, our concern has grown,” she said. “Since our kids are the children of all.”

Corporate Transition

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 sole participant in the public auction. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was travelling on freight ships en route to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. Transcripts of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s management minimized environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with EU regulations”.

Goenka is one of the three men 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 found guilty of ecological offenses and financial misreporting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in jail. Per a ex-supervisor speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was traveling for work to India prior to the firm’s collapse.

Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the ecological review for the construction of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already planning to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan explicitly spelled out the objective to “acquire the customer base 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 standard of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing test batches to companies with past business relationships with Miteni, including BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

From the beginning of 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, colorants, beauty products and other products.

Regulatory Context

Studies have shown that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, especially near production sites. But even though global focus is growing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is absent in such guidelines. It’s unacknowledged by the national authorities currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Independent research groups across India have performed research in different states. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still very few of them.”

Regional Consequences

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a dismal environmental track record”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fisher folk communities in this area completely collapsed,” she said.

The industrial area is dependent on a centralised wastewater treatment plant 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 rural Maharashtra state, the facility cannot function and industries release polluted water straight into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have issued several warning letters to the site in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is reviewing a proposal to ban the production, import and use of more than 10,000 forever chemicals. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I think that this matter should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and machinery have been transferred to a nation 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 company’s toxic legacy continues – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with PFAS manufacturing are likely to affect communities that are already struggling with an unsafe environment for years to come.

“That region has seen enough environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s always a risk.”