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The dense green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s west coast, lead to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands against the sky.

The factory is almost brand new, but its machinery is not: it originates from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 after among the most severe 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 region inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the Vicenza court 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 intellectual property and methods – everything needed to produce Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave almost 4,000 miles away, sandwiched among villages and groves of trees. And the factory has recently begun to produce forever chemicals again.

An Environmental Burden

Previously recognized for its specialism in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now notorious for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, researchers found exceptionally elevated concentrations of Pfas in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of inhabitants had been exposed through drinking water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its specialty chemicals division, showed one of the highest concentrations of PFAS documented in blood samples. “After the facts emerged, I reviewed a list of medical conditions associated with Pfas, and found out I had them all,” states Ermetti.

High levels of PFAS in the bloodstream are associated with higher chances of malignancies, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent surgical operation.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after discovering her children’s blood showed high levels of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and equipment were being sent to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as females, our concern has grown,” she said. “Because our children are the children of all.”

Business Shift

Following Miteni’s insolvency, its holdings were acquired 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, the complete machinery was being shipped en route to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to investors. Records of shareholders’ meetings show that Laxmi’s management downplayed ecological worries, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “operating lawfully according to European standards”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a company established in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was convicted of ecological offenses and financial misreporting at the June trial and given six years and four months in jail. Per a ex-supervisor requesting confidentiality, Nardone was taking business trips to India prior to the company went bankrupt.

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

Growth Plans

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy explicitly spelled out the objective to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and become a leader in the production of PFAS and fluorochemicals. Logistics data indicate that, to secure validation on the quality of the chemicals, 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 site in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, manufacturing substances that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, beauty products and other products.

Regulatory Context

Studies have shown that levels of persistent pollutants in the environment are worryingly elevated, particularly around production sites. But although global focus is growing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is absent in those standards. It’s not recognised by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have performed research in different states. But this work are restricted in range, 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 poor ecological history”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations in this region completely collapsed,” she said.

The industrial area is dependent on a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized.

“The local villages have consistently reported 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 discharge contaminated effluent straight into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have sent several warning letters to the site in the past few years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a proposal to prohibit the production, importation and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be pushing the industry to the global south, per 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 country like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the influence that these multinationals have to move 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 continues – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact communities that are already struggling with an unsafe environment for years to come.

“The area has seen enough environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”