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The dense green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, situated along India’s west coast, give way to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands under the open sky.

This industrial unit is largely newly built, but its equipment is far from new: it originates from the former Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following one of the worst environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the company’s management was brought to trial for contaminating water resources in an area home to 350,000 people. In June, its former executives were found guilty 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, all of the company’s equipment, its patents and processes – all required components to manufacture Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between local communities and wooded areas. And the factory has just started to produce forever chemicals again.

A Toxic Legacy

Once known for its expertise in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it left behind. In 2011, researchers found extraordinarily high concentrations of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of inhabitants had been exposed through potable water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed among the top levels of PFAS documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a list of medical conditions associated with Pfas, and found out I had them all,” states Ermetti.

High levels of Pfas in the blood are linked to increased risk of malignancies, heart conditions, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and more. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent surgical operation.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a healthcare worker and activist with Mamme No Pfas, began mobilizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests indicated elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being sent to India, she was stunned.

“As mothers, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Since our kids are the children of all.”

Corporate Transition

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 sole participant in the public auction. By early 2023, all the equipment was being shipped heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. Transcripts of shareholders’ meetings indicate that Laxmi’s management minimized environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with European standards”.

Goenka is a member on the directorate of Laxmi Organic Italy, a entity established in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was convicted of environmental pollution and false accounting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in jail. Per a ex-supervisor requesting confidentiality, Nardone was taking business trips to India months before the company went bankrupt.

Although Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the company was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s product list. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy clearly outlined the goal to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and become a leader in the manufacturing of PFAS and fluorochemicals. Shipping records show that, to secure validation on the standard of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing test batches to companies with past business relationships 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, pharmaceuticals, dyes, beauty products and additional goods.

Environmental Oversight

Investigations demonstrate that levels of persistent pollutants in the environment are alarmingly high, particularly around production sites. But although global focus is increasing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s not recognised 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 different states. But these studies are restricted in range, and there are still only a handful.”

Regional Consequences

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram manufacturing zone “has a poor ecological history”. After it was set up in 1986, “the livelihood of fishing populations in this region totally deteriorated,” she said.

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

“The local villages have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a common occurrence in the countryside, the plant cannot function and factories release polluted water directly into the waterways.” Regulatory bodies have sent multiple notices to the site in the past few years.

International Ramifications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is reviewing a proposal to prohibit the manufacture, importation and use of more than 10,000 persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the industry to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I think that this issue should be investigated, because the fact that Miteni’s production, intellectual assets and equipment have been relocated to a nation like India should prompt consideration, minimally, on the influence that these global corporations have to relocate in nations where there is evidently a race to the bottom in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Persistent Threats

Miteni has shut down, but the firm’s harmful impact lives on – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with PFAS manufacturing are likely to affect communities that are facing an hazardous setting for years to come.

“That region has seen enough ecological damage by now,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”