🔗 Share this article To Which Location Does a Western Chemical Plant That Contaminated Drinking Water Move On? Heading to India The lush green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s west coast, give way to a modest rise where a factory looms against the sky. This industrial unit is largely newly built, but its machinery is far from new: it comes from the defunct Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following one of the worst environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for contaminating water sources in an area home to 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the Vicenza court of causing environmental pollution and additional offenses and sentenced to jail, with appeals anticipated. Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes And yet, the entire operational setup, its intellectual property and methods – everything needed to manufacture Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among local communities and wooded areas. And the factory has recently begun to resume PFAS production. A Toxic Legacy Previously recognized for its specialism in developing processes for specialty compounds, Miteni is now notorious for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high concentrations of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants had been exposed through potable water. The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its specialty chemicals division, showed one of the highest concentrations of Pfas documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I looked at a catalog of health issues associated with Pfas, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti. Former Miteni worker Ilario Ermetti had elevated levels of PFAS in his blood. Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the blood are linked to increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent medical procedure. Public Apprehensions Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and activist with Mamme No Pfas, began mobilizing after learning her children’s blood indicated high levels of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s proprietary information and equipment were being sent to India, she was shocked. “As mothers, as females, our concern has grown,” 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 public auction. By the start of 2023, all the equipment was being shipped en route to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was promoting its recent purchase to investors. Transcripts of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s management minimized ecological worries, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with EU regulations”. Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a company established in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was found guilty of ecological offenses and false accounting at the recent court case and sentenced to 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 firm’s collapse. While Laxmi purchased Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the plant in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the company was already planning to start producing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s product list. 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 become a leader in the production of Pfas and fluorochemicals. Shipping records show that, to secure validation on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out samples to firms with past business relationships with Miteni, including BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC. From the beginning of 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, manufacturing substances that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, colorants, beauty products and additional goods. Environmental Oversight Studies demonstrate that levels of persistent pollutants in the environment are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But even though global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet. “Examining the rules, [Pfas] is absent in those standards. It’s not recognised 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 these studies are restricted in range, and there are still very few of them.” Regional Consequences Parineeta Dandekar, head of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a dismal environmental track record”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations in this area completely collapsed,” 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 frequent event in rural Maharashtra state, the plant fails to operate and industries discharge contaminated effluent directly into the streams.” Environmental authorities have issued multiple notices to the site in recent years. Global Implications In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a plan to prohibit the manufacture, importation and utilization of more than 10,000 forever chemicals. This attention may be driving the sector to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I believe that this matter should be examined, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, patents and equipment have been relocated to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the power that these global corporations have to relocate in nations where there is evidently a lowering of standards in terms of environmental protection.” Persistent Threats Miteni has shut down, but the firm’s harmful impact continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to Pfas production are expected to impact communities that are already struggling with an unsafe environment for years to come. “The area has seen enough ecological damage by now,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”