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

The lush tropical forest and rust-red hills of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, give way to a small hill where a industrial facility stands against the sky.

The factory is almost brand new, but its machinery is far from new: it comes from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 after among the most severe environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after years of manufacturing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for contaminating water sources in an area home to 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the local tribunal of causing environmental pollution and other charges and given prison sentences, with appeals anticipated.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

And yet, all of the company’s equipment, its patents and methods – all required components to produce Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, wedged between villages and groves of trees. And the factory has recently begun to produce forever chemicals again.

An Environmental Burden

Previously recognized for its specialism in developing processes for specialty compounds, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated levels of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants had been exposed through potable water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its specialty chemicals division, displayed among the top levels of Pfas ever recorded in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a list of medical conditions related to Pfas, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti.

High levels of Pfas in the bloodstream are associated with higher chances of cancer, heart conditions, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, started organizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests showed high levels of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s patents and equipment were being sent to India, she was shocked.

“Being parents, as females, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Because our children are everyone’s children.”

Corporate Transition

After Miteni went bankrupt, its assets were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the open sale. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. Records of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s management minimized ecological worries, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with European standards”.

Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic Italy, 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 June trial and given six years and four months in prison. Per a former mid-level manager requesting confidentiality, Nardone was traveling for work to India months before the firm’s collapse.

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 company was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorinated compounds compatible with Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to requests for comment.

Growth Plans

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined 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 quality of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out samples to companies 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 utilized for pesticides, medicines, dyes, cosmetics and additional goods.

Regulatory Context

Investigations demonstrate that levels of forever chemicals in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But even though international attention is growing, in India the issue 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 Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have conducted studies in different states. But these studies are restricted in range, and there are still only a handful.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator 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 totally deteriorated,” she said.

The industrial area is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been at the forefront of complaints.

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in rural Maharashtra state, the facility cannot function and factories release polluted water straight into the streams.” Environmental authorities have sent several warning letters to the site in the past few years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is reviewing a proposal to ban the manufacture, import and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This attention may be driving the industry to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I believe that this issue should be investigated, because the fact that Miteni’s production, patents and equipment have been relocated 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 nations where there is evidently a lowering of standards in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Persistent Threats

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

“That region has experienced sufficient ecological damage already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms move in, it’s perpetually concerning.”