🔗 Share this article To Which Location Will a European Chemical Plant That Contaminated Water Supplies Go Next? Heading to India The dense green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s west coast, lead to a small hill where a industrial facility stands under the open sky. The factory is largely newly built, but its equipment is not: it originates from the defunct Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following among the most severe ecological controversies in the nation’s modern record: after decades of producing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for polluting water resources in an area home to 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were found guilty at the local tribunal of environmental damage and other charges and given prison sentences, with appeals anticipated. What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed? Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its patents and processes – everything needed to produce forever chemicals – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among villages and groves of trees. And the factory has recently begun to produce forever chemicals again. A Toxic Legacy Previously recognized for its specialism in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of residents had been subjected through drinking water. The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades 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 related to Pfas, and found out I had them all,” states Ermetti. Ex-employee Ilario Ermetti had elevated levels of PFAS in his blood. Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the bloodstream are linked to increased risk of cancer, heart conditions, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure. Public Apprehensions Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests indicated elevated amounts of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned. “As mothers, as women, our concern has grown,” she said. “Because our children are the children of all.” Corporate Transition Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a subsidiary of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the open sale. By early 2023, the complete machinery was travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was promoting its new acquisition to shareholders. Records of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s executives minimized ecological worries, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “operating lawfully according to EU regulations”. Goenka is one of the three men on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity founded in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was convicted of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the June trial and sentenced to six years and four months in prison. According to a ex-supervisor speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was taking business trips to India months before the company went bankrupt. Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the ecological review for the construction of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already intending to start producing fluorochemicals compatible with Miteni’s product list. 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 become a leader 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 firms 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, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, medicines, dyes, beauty products and other products. Environmental Oversight Investigations demonstrate that levels of forever chemicals in the environment are worryingly elevated, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although 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 unacknowledged by the national authorities as of today,” 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 restricted in range, 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 region completely collapsed,” she said. The industrial area is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized. “The local villages have always stated that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in the countryside, the facility cannot function and factories discharge contaminated effluent straight into the waterways.” Regulatory bodies have sent several warning letters to the site in recent years. Global Implications In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a proposal to ban the manufacture, import and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This attention may be driving the sector to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I think that this matter should be investigated, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, patents and machinery have been relocated to a country like India should lead us to reflect, minimally, on the influence that these multinationals have to relocate in countries where there is evidently a race to the bottom in terms of environmental protection.” Persistent Threats Miteni has shut down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts associated with Pfas production are expected to impact communities that are already struggling with an hazardous setting for generations. “The area has experienced sufficient environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies move in, it’s always a risk.”