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The dense green jungle and rust-red elevations of Lote, located on India’s west coast, lead 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 former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following among the most severe environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after decades of producing Pfas forever chemicals, the company’s management was brought to trial for polluting water resources in an region home to 350,000 people. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the local tribunal of causing environmental pollution and additional offenses and given prison sentences, with appeals anticipated.

What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?

And yet, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – everything needed to produce Pfas – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, sandwiched among villages and wooded areas. And the plant has recently begun to produce forever chemicals again.

A Toxic Legacy

Previously recognized for its expertise in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it left behind. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated concentrations of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of residents had been exposed through drinking water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s own workers. 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 related to PFAS, and discovered I had them all,” says Ermetti.

Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the bloodstream are associated with increased risk of malignancies, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent medical procedure.

Community Concerns

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and activist with Mothers Against PFAS, started organizing after discovering her children’s blood showed high levels of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and equipment were being transferred to India, she was shocked.

“As mothers, as females, our concern has grown,” she said. “Since our kids are everyone’s children.”

Business Shift

After Miteni went bankrupt, its holdings 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 travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was promoting its new acquisition to investors. Records of shareholders’ meetings show that Laxmi’s management minimized environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “operating lawfully according to EU regulations”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the directorate of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a company founded in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was convicted of ecological offenses and false accounting at the recent court case and given six years and four months in jail. 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 bought Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the factory in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the firm was already intending to start producing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan explicitly spelled out the objective to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the manufacturing of Pfas and fluorochemicals. Shipping records show that, to secure validation on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing samples 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, manufacturing substances that will be utilized for agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, dyes, cosmetics and additional goods.

Environmental Oversight

Investigations demonstrate that levels of forever chemicals in the ecosystem are worryingly elevated, particularly around production sites. But even though global focus is increasing, in India the issue is not yet a policy priority.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s not recognised by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an ecological scientist at the academic institution. “Autonomous study teams across India have conducted studies in different states. But these studies are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.”

Regional Consequences

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a poor ecological history”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations in this area completely collapsed,” she said.

The chemical district is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been at the forefront of complaints.

“Nearby communities have always stated that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in rural Maharashtra state, the facility cannot function and factories release polluted water straight into the streams.” Environmental authorities have issued several warning letters to the site in the past few years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a proposal to prohibit the production, import and use of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be pushing the industry to the developing nations, per Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I believe that this matter should be examined, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, patents and equipment have been transferred to a nation like India should lead us to reflect, at the very least, on the power that these multinationals have to move in countries where there is clearly a race to the bottom in terms of environmental protection.”

Persistent Threats

Miteni has closed down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact communities that are already struggling with an hazardous setting for years to come.

“That region has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s always a risk.”