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The dense green jungle and rust-red hills of Lote, located on India’s west coast, give way to a small hill where a factory looms under the open sky.

The factory is largely newly built, but its machinery is far from new: it originates from the defunct Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 after one of the worst ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the company’s management was brought to trial for polluting water sources in an area home to 350,000 residents. In June, its former executives were found guilty at the local tribunal of causing environmental pollution and additional offenses and given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against.

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And yet, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – everything needed to manufacture Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, wedged between villages and wooded areas. And the factory 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 toxic legacy it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high concentrations of Pfas in the plant’s wastewater. Numerous of residents had been exposed through potable water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its specialty chemicals division, displayed one of the highest concentrations of Pfas documented in human blood. “After the facts emerged, I looked at a catalog of health issues associated with PFAS, and discovered I had them all,” says Ermetti.

High levels of Pfas in the bloodstream are linked to increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, organ impairment, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent surgical operation.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and activist with Mamme No Pfas, began mobilizing after discovering her offspring’s blood tests showed elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and equipment were being transferred to India, she was shocked.

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

Corporate Transition

Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were bought in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a subsidiary of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the public auction. By the start of 2023, the complete machinery was being shipped heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to shareholders. Records of shareholders’ meetings indicate that Laxmi’s management minimized environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “doing everything legally in compliance with EU regulations”.

Goenka is a member on the directorate of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity established in 2021. Also included is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was convicted of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in jail. According to a former mid-level manager requesting confidentiality, Nardone was taking business trips to India months before the company went bankrupt.

While Laxmi purchased Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the construction of the factory in Lote reveals that in March 2018 the company was already planning to start producing fluorochemicals matching Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer 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 manufacturing of Pfas and specialty chemicals. Shipping records indicate that, to get approval on the standard of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out test batches to firms with previous commercial ties with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

From the beginning of 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, medicines, dyes, beauty products and other products.

Environmental Oversight

Studies demonstrate that concentrations of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is growing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority.

“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 performed research in various regions. But these studies are restricted in range, and there are still only a handful.”

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 set up in 1986, “the livelihood of fisher folk communities in this area totally deteriorated,” she said.

The industrial area is dependent on a centralised wastewater treatment plant that has been frequently criticized.

“The local villages have consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a frequent event in rural Maharashtra state, the facility fails to operate and industries discharge contaminated effluent directly into the streams.” Environmental authorities have issued several warning letters to the plant in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is examining a plan to prohibit the production, importation and utilization of more than 10,000 forever chemicals. This scrutiny may be pushing the sector to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I believe that this issue should be investigated, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, patents and equipment have been relocated to a nation like India should prompt consideration, at the very least, on the power that these multinationals have to move in countries 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 lives on – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects linked to Pfas production are likely to affect populations that are already struggling with an unsafe environment for generations.

“That region has seen enough environmental destruction already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms move in, it’s perpetually concerning.”