To Which Location Does a European Manufacturing Facility Which Polluted Water Supplies Go Next? To India

The dense green jungle and rust-red elevations of Lote, situated along India’s west coast, lead to a small hill where a industrial facility stands against the sky.

The factory is almost brand new, but its equipment is far from new: it comes from the defunct Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following among the most severe environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing Pfas forever chemicals, the company’s management was brought to trial for polluting water sources in an region inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, its former executives were convicted at the Vicenza court of causing environmental pollution and other charges and sentenced to jail, which they are expected to appeal against.

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Nevertheless, the entire operational setup, its patents and processes – all required components to produce forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between local communities and groves of trees. And the plant has recently begun to resume PFAS production.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its expertise in developing processes for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it left behind. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated concentrations of PFAS compounds in the plant’s wastewater. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants had been subjected through drinking 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 documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I looked at a catalog of health issues associated with PFAS, and discovered I had them all,” says Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the blood are associated with increased risk of cancer, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, reproductive disorders and more. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent surgical operation.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and activist with Mamme No Pfas, began mobilizing after discovering her children’s blood showed elevated amounts of persistent pollutants. When she learned that Miteni’s proprietary information and equipment were being sent to India, she was stunned.

“Being parents, as females, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Because our children are the children of all.”

Business Shift

Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were bought in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the public auction. By early 2023, the complete machinery was being shipped en route to Mumbai. At the same time, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to investors. Transcripts of shareholders’ meetings show that Laxmi’s executives downplayed environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally according to European standards”.

Goenka is a member on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a company founded in 2021. Another 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 jail. According to a ex-supervisor speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was taking business trips 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 firm was already planning to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals compatible with Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to inquiries.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy 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 compounds, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing test batches to companies with past business relationships with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

From the beginning of 2025, Laxmi’s site in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, colorants, beauty products and additional goods.

Regulatory Context

Investigations have shown that concentrations of forever chemicals in the environment are worryingly elevated, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is increasing, in India the issue is not yet a policy priority.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is not present in such guidelines. It’s unacknowledged by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Independent research groups across India have performed research in different states. But this work 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 dismal environmental track record”. After it was set up in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations in this region totally deteriorated,” she said.

The chemical district is dependent on a centralised wastewater treatment plant that has been at the forefront of complaints.

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a common occurrence in rural Maharashtra state, the facility cannot function and factories release contaminated effluent straight into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have issued multiple notices to the site in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is reviewing a proposal to ban the production, importation and use 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 think that this matter should be investigated, because the reality that Miteni’s operations, patents and equipment have been transferred to a country like India should prompt consideration, minimally, on the power that these multinationals have to relocate in nations where there is evidently a race to the bottom in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Persistent Threats

Miteni has closed down, but the firm’s harmful impact continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects linked to PFAS manufacturing are likely to affect populations that are facing an hazardous setting for generations.

“That region has seen enough environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s always a risk.”