🔗 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 elevations of Lote, located on India’s western shoreline, lead to a small hill where a industrial facility stands under the open sky. This industrial unit is largely newly built, but its machinery is far from new: it originates from the defunct Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 after one of the worst environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for polluting water resources in an area home to 350,000 people. In June, previous company leaders were found guilty at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and other charges and sentenced to jail, which they are expected to appeal against. What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed? Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – all required components to manufacture Pfas – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, sandwiched among local communities and groves of trees. And the factory has just started to produce forever chemicals again. A Toxic Legacy Previously recognized for its expertise in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it left behind. In 2011, researchers found exceptionally elevated levels of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of inhabitants had been exposed through potable water. The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its specialty chemicals division, showed among the top levels of PFAS ever recorded in human blood. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a list of medical conditions associated with Pfas, and discovered I had them all,” states Ermetti. Ex-employee Ilario Ermetti had elevated levels of PFAS in his blood. High levels of PFAS in the blood are linked to higher chances of malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, reproductive disorders and more. 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 offspring’s blood tests indicated high levels of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and equipment were being sent to India, she was shocked. “Being parents, as females, our concern has grown,” she said. “Since our kids are the children of all.” Corporate Transition After Miteni went bankrupt, its holdings were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the Indian chemical company Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the public auction. By the start of 2023, all the equipment was being shipped heading to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to investors. Records of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s executives minimized ecological worries, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “operating lawfully according to EU regulations”. Goenka is a member on the directorate of Laxmi Organic Italy, a entity established 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 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 bought Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already planning to commence manufacturing fluorinated compounds compatible with Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to inquiries. Growth Plans By 2021, Laxmi’s plan explicitly spelled out the goal to “acquire the customer base of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the production of Pfas and specialty chemicals. 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 completely active, producing chemicals that will be used in agrochemicals, medicines, colorants, beauty products and other products. Regulatory Context Studies have shown that concentrations of forever chemicals in the ecosystem are worryingly elevated, particularly around production sites. But even though international attention is growing, 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 unacknowledged by the Indian government as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have conducted studies in different states. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.” Local Impact Parineeta Dandekar, head of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a dismal environmental track record”. After it was set up in 1986, “the income source of fishing populations in this region completely collapsed,” she said. The chemical district is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized. “Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a frequent event in rural Maharashtra state, the facility cannot function and factories release contaminated effluent directly into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have sent several warning letters to the site in recent years. International Ramifications In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a plan to prohibit the manufacture, import and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I believe that this issue should be examined, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, patents and machinery have been transferred to a country like India should prompt consideration, minimally, on the power that these global corporations have to relocate in nations where there is clearly a lowering of standards in terms of environmental protection.” Persistent Threats Miteni has closed down, but the company’s toxic legacy lives on – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with PFAS manufacturing are likely to affect populations that are facing an unsafe environment for generations. “That region has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms move in, it’s perpetually concerning.”