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The dense tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, give way to a small hill 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 among the most severe environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for contaminating water resources in an area inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were found guilty at the Vicenza court of causing environmental pollution and other charges and sentenced to jail, which they are expected to appeal against.

What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?

And yet, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – everything needed to produce Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave thousands of miles distant, wedged between local communities and wooded areas. And the factory has just started to resume PFAS production.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its specialism in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now notorious for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, researchers found exceptionally elevated concentrations of PFAS compounds 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, displayed among the top levels of PFAS ever recorded in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I looked at a catalog of health issues associated with Pfas, and discovered I had them all,” states Ermetti.

High levels of PFAS in the blood are linked to increased risk of malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, fertility issues and more. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent surgical operation.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, began mobilizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests indicated high levels of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being sent to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as females, our anxiety has increased,” 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 domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the public auction. By early 2023, the complete machinery was travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to shareholders. Records of shareholders’ meetings show that Laxmi’s executives downplayed environmental concerns, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with EU regulations”.

Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic Italy, a company founded in 2021. Another 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 taking business trips to India months before the firm’s collapse.

While Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the ecological review for the building of the factory in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the company was already intending to start producing fluorinated compounds matching Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer inquiries.

Growth Plans

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined the goal to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the manufacturing of PFAS and specialty chemicals. Logistics data indicate that, to secure validation on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out test batches to companies with previous commercial ties with Miteni, including BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

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

Regulatory Context

Studies demonstrate that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are worryingly elevated, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But even though global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s not recognised by the Indian government as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Autonomous study teams across India have conducted studies in various regions. But these studies are restricted in range, and there are still very few of them.”

Local Impact

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 fisher folk communities in this area completely collapsed,” she said.

The chemical district is dependent on a shared effluent treatment facility that has been at the forefront of complaints.

“Nearby communities have always stated that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a common occurrence in the countryside, the plant cannot function and factories release polluted water directly into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have sent multiple notices to the site in recent years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is reviewing a proposal to ban the manufacture, importation and utilization of more than 10,000 persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the developing nations, per Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I think that this issue should be examined, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and machinery have been transferred to a country like India should prompt consideration, 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 ecological safeguards.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has closed down, but the company’s toxic legacy lives on – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects linked to Pfas production are likely to affect populations that are already struggling with an unsafe environment for generations.

“The area has seen enough ecological damage already,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s always a risk.”