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The dense tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s western shoreline, give way to a modest rise where a factory looms under the open sky.

The factory is largely newly built, but its machinery is not: it originates from the defunct Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 after among the most severe environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after decades of producing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for contaminating water sources in an area home to 350,000 people. In June, its former executives were convicted at the local tribunal of causing environmental pollution and additional offenses and given prison sentences, with appeals anticipated.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its intellectual property and processes – everything needed to produce Pfas – is now here in 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 resume PFAS production.

An Environmental Burden

Previously recognized for its specialism in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now notorious for the toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, researchers found exceptionally elevated concentrations of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of inhabitants had been subjected through potable water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its specialty chemicals division, displayed one of the highest concentrations of PFAS documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I looked at a list of medical conditions related to Pfas, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of Pfas in the bloodstream are associated with higher chances of malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent surgical operation.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and activist with Mothers Against PFAS, began mobilizing after discovering her children’s blood indicated elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she learned that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being transferred to India, she was shocked.

“Being parents, as women, our concern has grown,” she said. “Since our kids are everyone’s children.”

Business Shift

After Miteni went bankrupt, its holdings were bought in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the open sale. By the start of 2023, all the equipment was travelling on freight ships en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to shareholders. Records of shareholders’ meetings show that Laxmi’s executives minimized environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with European standards”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the directorate of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity established in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was found guilty of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the June trial and sentenced to 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 firm’s collapse.

While Laxmi purchased 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 planning to start producing fluorinated compounds matching Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer inquiries.

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. Shipping records show that, to get approval on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing test batches to firms with previous commercial ties with Miteni, including BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s site in Lote Parshuram has been completely active, producing chemicals that will be utilized for agrochemicals, medicines, dyes, cosmetics and other products.

Regulatory Context

Studies have shown that levels of forever chemicals in the environment are worryingly elevated, particularly around production sites. But even though global focus is growing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is absent in such guidelines. It’s unacknowledged by the Indian government 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 only a handful.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, head of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a poor ecological history”. After it was set up in 1986, “the income source of fisher folk communities in this area totally deteriorated,” she said.

The industrial area is served by a centralised wastewater treatment plant that has been frequently criticized.

“The local villages have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a frequent event in rural Maharashtra state, the plant fails to operate and industries release contaminated effluent directly into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have sent multiple notices to the plant in the past few years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a plan to prohibit the production, importation and utilization of more than 10,000 forever chemicals. This attention may be pushing the industry to the global south, per Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I believe that this matter should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s production, intellectual assets and equipment have been transferred to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the influence that these global corporations have to move in countries where there is clearly a lowering of standards in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Ongoing Risks

Miteni has closed down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to Pfas production are likely to affect communities that are facing an unsafe environment for generations.

“The area has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”