To Which Location Does a Western Chemical Plant That Contaminated Drinking Water Go Next? Heading to India

The dense green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s west coast, give way to a modest rise where a factory looms against the sky.

The factory is almost brand new, but its machinery is not: it comes from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following 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 resources in an area inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were found guilty at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and additional offenses and sentenced to jail, with appeals anticipated.

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

And yet, the entire operational setup, its patents and processes – all required components to manufacture forever chemicals – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between local communities and wooded areas. And the plant has recently begun to resume PFAS production.

An Environmental Burden

Once known for its specialism in developing processes for specialty compounds, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of residents had been subjected through drinking water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its specialty chemicals division, displayed one of the highest concentrations of Pfas ever recorded in human blood. “After the facts emerged, I looked at a list of medical conditions related to PFAS, and found out I had them all,” states Ermetti.

High levels of Pfas in the bloodstream are associated with increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent medical procedure.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, began mobilizing after discovering her offspring’s blood tests indicated high levels of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and equipment were being transferred to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as females, 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 Viva Lifesciences, a subsidiary of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the open sale. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. Records of shareholders’ meetings indicate that Laxmi’s management downplayed environmental concerns, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally 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. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was found guilty of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the June trial and sentenced to six years and four months in prison. Per a former mid-level manager speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was taking business trips to India prior to the company went bankrupt.

Although Laxmi bought Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the factory 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.

Growth Plans

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy explicitly spelled out the goal to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and become a leader in the manufacturing of PFAS and fluorochemicals. Shipping records indicate that, to secure validation on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing test batches to companies 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 fully operational, manufacturing substances that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, beauty products and other products.

Environmental Oversight

Studies have shown that levels of forever chemicals in the environment are alarmingly high, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is increasing, in India the issue is not on the political agenda yet.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is absent in those standards. It’s unacknowledged by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have performed research in different states. But these studies are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.”

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 industrial area is dependent on a centralised wastewater treatment plant that has been frequently criticized.

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a frequent event in the countryside, the plant cannot function and industries discharge polluted water directly into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have issued multiple notices to the site in the past few years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is reviewing a proposal to ban the production, importation and use of over ten thousand forever chemicals. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the global south, per Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I believe that this issue should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and equipment have been relocated to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, minimally, on the influence that these global corporations have to relocate in countries where there is evidently a race to the bottom in terms of environmental protection.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has shut down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to Pfas production are likely to affect populations that are facing an hazardous setting for years to come.

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