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The lush tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s western shoreline, give way to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands against the sky.

This industrial unit is almost brand new, but its equipment is not: it comes from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 after among the most severe environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after decades of producing 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, previous company leaders were found guilty at the local tribunal of environmental damage and other charges and given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against.

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

Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its intellectual property and methods – all required components to produce Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, sandwiched among villages and wooded areas. And the factory has recently begun to resume PFAS production.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its expertise in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now notorious for the toxic legacy it left behind. In 2011, researchers found extraordinarily high concentrations of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Hundreds of thousands of residents had been subjected through potable water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its fluorinated chemical department, showed among the top levels of Pfas documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a catalog of health issues associated with PFAS, and discovered I had them all,” says Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the bloodstream are linked to increased risk of malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, reproductive disorders and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and activist with Mothers Against PFAS, started organizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests indicated high levels of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Because our children are the children of all.”

Corporate Transition

Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were acquired in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the open sale. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was being shipped heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to shareholders. Transcripts of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s executives downplayed ecological worries, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with EU regulations”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the directorate of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity founded in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was found guilty of environmental pollution and false accounting at the June trial and given 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.

Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the construction of the plant in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the company was already planning to commence manufacturing fluorinated compounds matching Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined the goal to “acquire the customer base of Miteni” and become a leader in the production of Pfas and specialty chemicals. Shipping records show that, to secure validation on the standard of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out samples to firms with past business relationships with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s site in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, beauty products and other products.

Regulatory Context

Studies have shown that concentrations of forever chemicals in the environment are worryingly elevated, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But even though international attention is increasing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is absent in those standards. It’s unacknowledged 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 performed research in different states. But these studies are restricted in range, and there are still only a handful.”

Regional Consequences

Parineeta Dandekar, head of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a dismal environmental track record”. After it was established in 1986, “the income source of fishing populations in this region totally deteriorated,” she said.

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

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a frequent event in the countryside, the plant fails to operate and factories discharge polluted water straight into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have sent several warning letters to the site in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a proposal to prohibit the manufacture, importation and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This attention may be pushing the industry to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I believe 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, minimally, on the power that these global corporations have to move in countries where there is clearly a lowering of standards in terms of environmental protection.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has closed down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts associated with Pfas production are likely to affect populations that are already struggling with an hazardous setting for years to come.

“The area has experienced sufficient environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s always a risk.”