🔗 Share this article Where Will a Western Chemical Plant Which Polluted Water Supplies Go Next? Heading to India The lush 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 equipment is far from new: it originates from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following one of the worst ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for contaminating water resources in an region home to 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the Vicenza court of environmental damage 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 – all required components to manufacture forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave thousands of miles distant, wedged between villages and wooded areas. And the factory has just started to resume PFAS production. A Toxic Legacy Previously recognized for its expertise in developing processes for specialty compounds, Miteni is now notorious for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, researchers found extraordinarily high concentrations of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of inhabitants had been exposed through drinking water. The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its fluorinated chemical department, showed one of the highest concentrations of Pfas documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I looked at a list of medical conditions related to Pfas, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti. Former Miteni worker Ilario Ermetti had elevated levels of PFAS in his blood. High levels of Pfas in the blood are linked to increased risk of malignancies, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and more. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent surgical operation. Community Concerns Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, began mobilizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests indicated high levels of persistent pollutants. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and equipment were being transferred to India, she was stunned. “Being parents, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Since our kids are the children of all.” Corporate Transition Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were bought 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 travelling on freight ships en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to investors. Records of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s management downplayed environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with EU regulations”. Goenka is one of the three men on the directorate of Laxmi Organic Italy, a entity established in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was found guilty of ecological offenses and false accounting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in prison. Per a former mid-level manager requesting confidentiality, Nardone was traveling for work to India prior to the company went bankrupt. Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the ecological review for the building of the factory in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already planning to commence manufacturing fluorinated compounds matching Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to inquiries. Strategic Expansion By 2021, Laxmi’s plan explicitly spelled out the goal to “acquire the customer base of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the production of PFAS and fluorochemicals. Logistics data show that, to get approval on the standard 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 location in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, producing chemicals that will be utilized for agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, beauty products and additional goods. Environmental Oversight Studies have shown that levels of persistent pollutants in the environment are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet. “Examining the rules, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s unacknowledged by the national authorities as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “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.” Regional Consequences Parineeta Dandekar, head of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a poor ecological history”. After it was established in 1986, “the income source of fishing populations in this area completely collapsed,” she said. The chemical district is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized. “The local villages have consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in the countryside, the plant cannot function and factories discharge contaminated effluent straight into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have sent multiple notices to the plant in the past few years. Global Implications In the EU, the regulatory agency is reviewing a plan to prohibit the manufacture, importation and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I think that this issue should be examined, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and machinery have been relocated to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the influence that these global corporations have to relocate in nations where there is clearly a lowering of standards in terms of environmental protection.” Ongoing Risks Miteni has shut down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects linked to PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact communities that are facing an unsafe environment for years to come. “That region has experienced sufficient environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms move in, it’s perpetually concerning.”