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The dense green jungle and reddish-brown elevations of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, lead to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands under the open sky.

The factory is largely newly built, but its equipment is far from new: it originates from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following one of the worst environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after decades of producing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for polluting water sources in an region home to 350,000 people. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and other charges and sentenced to jail, with appeals anticipated.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – all required components to manufacture forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between local communities and groves of trees. And the plant has recently begun to resume PFAS production.

A Toxic Legacy

Once known for its expertise in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the facility’s effluent. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants had been subjected through potable water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed one of the highest concentrations of Pfas documented in human blood. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a catalog of health issues associated with Pfas, and discovered I had them all,” says Ermetti.

High levels of PFAS in the bloodstream are associated with increased risk of malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent medical procedure.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, started organizing after discovering her children’s blood indicated elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s patents and equipment were being sent to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as females, our anxiety has increased,” 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 branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the open sale. By the start of 2023, all the equipment was being shipped heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to shareholders. Records of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s management minimized environmental concerns, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with European standards”.

Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a company founded in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was found guilty of ecological offenses and financial misreporting at the recent court case and given 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 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 company was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals compatible with Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer inquiries.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined the objective to “acquire the customer base of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the production of Pfas and specialty chemicals. Logistics data show that, to get approval on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out samples to firms with previous commercial ties with Miteni, including BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, colorants, beauty products and additional goods.

Environmental Oversight

Investigations have shown that levels of forever chemicals in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is growing, in India the issue is not yet a policy priority.

“If we look at the regulations, [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. “Independent research groups across India have conducted studies in various regions. But this work are restricted in range, and there are still only a handful.”

Regional Consequences

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a poor ecological history”. After it was set up in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations in this area totally deteriorated,” she said.

The industrial area is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized.

“The local villages have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a common occurrence in rural Maharashtra state, the plant cannot function and industries release polluted water directly into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have sent several warning letters to the plant in the past few years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is reviewing a proposal to ban the manufacture, importation and use of more than 10,000 persistent compounds. This attention may be driving the sector to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I think that this matter should be examined, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, patents and machinery have been transferred to a country like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the power that these global corporations have to move in countries where there is evidently a lowering of standards in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Persistent Threats

Miteni has closed down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact populations that are already struggling with an unsafe environment for generations.

“The area has seen enough environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms move in, it’s always a risk.”