🔗 Share this article Where Will a Western Chemical Plant That Contaminated Drinking Water Move On? Heading to India The lush tropical forest and rust-red hills of Lote, located on India’s west coast, give way to a small hill where a industrial facility stands against the sky. The factory is largely newly built, but its machinery is far from new: it comes from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following one of the worst ecological controversies in the nation’s modern record: after decades of producing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for contaminating water resources in an region home to 350,000 people. In June, its former executives were convicted at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and other charges and given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against. Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes And yet, all of the company’s equipment, its patents and methods – all required components to produce forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among villages and wooded areas. And the factory has just started to resume PFAS production. A Toxic Legacy Once known for its expertise in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now notorious for the harmful aftermath it left behind. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated concentrations of Pfas in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of inhabitants had been subjected through drinking water. The most impacted were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed one of the highest concentrations of PFAS ever recorded in blood samples. “After the facts emerged, I reviewed a list of medical conditions associated with PFAS, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti. Former Miteni worker Ilario Ermetti showed a high concentration of PFAS in his blood. Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the blood are linked to higher chances of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, reproductive disorders and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure. Community Concerns Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after discovering her offspring’s blood tests showed elevated amounts of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being transferred to India, she was shocked. “Being parents, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Since our kids are everyone’s children.” Corporate Transition Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the public auction. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was being shipped heading to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. 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 a member on the directorate of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity founded in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was convicted of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in prison. Per a ex-supervisor speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was traveling for work to India months before the company went bankrupt. Although Laxmi bought Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the ecological review for the building of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already intending to start producing fluorinated compounds matching Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to inquiries. Strategic Expansion By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy explicitly spelled out the goal to “acquire the customer base of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the manufacturing of PFAS and fluorochemicals. Shipping records show that, to secure validation on the quality of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing samples 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, manufacturing substances that will be used in pesticides, medicines, colorants, beauty products and other products. Regulatory Context Investigations have shown that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the environment are worryingly elevated, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet. “If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s not recognised by the national authorities currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have performed research in various regions. But these studies are limited in scope, and there are still very few of them.” Local Impact Parineeta Dandekar, head of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a poor ecological history”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations 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 consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a frequent event in rural Maharashtra state, the plant cannot function and industries discharge polluted water straight into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have sent multiple notices to the site in the past few years. International Ramifications In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a proposal to ban the manufacture, importation and utilization of more than 10,000 forever chemicals. This attention may be driving the sector to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I believe that this matter should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s production, intellectual assets and machinery have been relocated to a country like India should lead us to reflect, minimally, on the power that these global corporations have to relocate in countries where there is clearly a lowering of standards in terms of ecological safeguards.” Ongoing Risks Miteni has closed down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact communities that are facing an unsafe environment for generations. “The area has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s always a risk.”