🔗 Share this article To Which Location Will a Western Manufacturing Facility Which Polluted Drinking Water Move On? To India The dense green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, lead to a small hill where a industrial facility stands under the open sky. This industrial unit is almost brand new, but its machinery is not: it originates from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following among the most severe environmental scandals 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, its former executives were convicted at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and other charges and given prison sentences, with appeals anticipated. Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its intellectual property and methods – everything needed to manufacture forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, wedged between local communities and groves of trees. And the factory has just started to produce forever chemicals again. An Environmental Burden Once known for its specialism in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now notorious for the harmful aftermath it left behind. In 2011, scientists 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 was employed for years in its specialty chemicals division, displayed among the top levels of Pfas documented in blood samples. “After the facts emerged, 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 showed a high concentration of Pfas in his blood. High levels of Pfas in the blood are linked to higher chances of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent surgical operation. Public Apprehensions Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, started organizing after learning her children’s blood showed elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being sent to India, she was stunned. “As mothers, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Because our children are the children of all.” Business Shift Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were acquired in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a branch of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the open sale. By early 2023, the complete machinery was being shipped en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to shareholders. Records of shareholders’ meetings show that Laxmi’s executives downplayed environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with EU regulations”. Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic Italy, a company established in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was found guilty of ecological offenses and false accounting 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 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 construction of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals compatible with Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to requests for comment. Growth Plans 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 fluorochemicals. Shipping records indicate that, to get approval on the quality of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing samples to firms with past business relationships with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC. From the beginning of 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, manufacturing substances that will be utilized for agrochemicals, medicines, dyes, cosmetics and additional goods. Regulatory Context Investigations demonstrate that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the environment are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is growing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority. “If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s unacknowledged by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Independent research groups 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, coordinator of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a dismal environmental track record”. After it was established in 1986, “the income source of fishing populations in this area completely collapsed,” she said. The industrial area is served by a centralised wastewater treatment plant that has been at the forefront of complaints. “The local villages have consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a common occurrence in the countryside, the plant fails to operate and industries release contaminated effluent directly into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have issued 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 prohibit the manufacture, import and utilization of more than 10,000 forever chemicals. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the global south, per Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the University of Padua. “I think that this issue should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, patents and equipment have been relocated to a country like India should prompt consideration, minimally, on the power 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 closed down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts associated with Pfas production are expected to impact communities that are facing an unsafe environment for years to come. “That region has seen enough ecological damage already,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s always a risk.”