🔗 Share this article To Which Location Does a European Chemical Plant Which Polluted Water Supplies Go Next? Heading to India The lush tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s western shoreline, give way to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands against the sky. The factory is almost brand new, but its machinery is not: it comes from the defunct Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 following one of the worst environmental scandals in the nation’s modern record: after decades of producing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for polluting water sources in an region inhabited by 350,000 people. In June, its former executives were convicted at the Vicenza court of causing environmental pollution and other charges and given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against. What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed? And yet, all of the company’s equipment, its intellectual property and processes – all required components to produce Pfas – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, sandwiched among villages and groves of trees. And the plant has recently begun to resume PFAS production. An Environmental Burden Previously recognized for its expertise in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found exceptionally elevated levels of PFAS compounds in the facility’s effluent. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants had been subjected through drinking water. The worst-affected were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its fluorinated chemical department, displayed one of the highest concentrations of PFAS documented in blood samples. “After the facts emerged, I reviewed a list of medical conditions associated with Pfas, and found out I had them all,” says Ermetti. Ex-employee Ilario Ermetti had elevated levels of Pfas in his blood. Elevated concentrations of PFAS in the blood are linked to increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and more. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent surgical operation. Public Apprehensions Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mothers Against PFAS, began mobilizing after discovering her children’s blood indicated high levels of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s patents and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned. “Being parents, as women, our anxiety has increased,” she said. “Since our kids are the children of all.” Business Shift Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were acquired in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the public auction. 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 investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s executives minimized environmental concerns, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally according to European standards”. Goenka is one of the three men on the directorate of Laxmi Organic Italy, a company founded in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the final CEO of Miteni, who was convicted of environmental pollution and financial misreporting at the June trial and given six years and four months in prison. According to a ex-supervisor requesting confidentiality, Nardone was taking business trips to India months before the company went bankrupt. Although Laxmi bought Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the ecological review for the building of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already intending to commence manufacturing fluorinated compounds compatible with 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 production of PFAS and specialty chemicals. Shipping records indicate that, to get approval on the standard of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out samples to companies with previous commercial ties with Miteni, including BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC. Since early 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, manufacturing substances that will be utilized for pesticides, medicines, colorants, cosmetics and additional goods. Regulatory Context Investigations demonstrate that levels of forever chemicals in the ecosystem are worryingly elevated, particularly around manufacturing facilities. But even though international attention is growing, in India the issue is not on the political agenda yet. “If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is not present in those standards. It’s unacknowledged by the national authorities currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “Independent research groups across India have performed research in different states. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.” Local Impact Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a poor ecological history”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fisher folk communities 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 consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a frequent event in the countryside, the facility fails to operate and industries discharge contaminated effluent directly into the waterways.” Environmental authorities have sent multiple notices to the site in recent years. Global Implications In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is reviewing a proposal to prohibit the production, importation and utilization of over ten thousand forever chemicals. This attention may be pushing the sector to the developing nations, per Claudia Marcolungo, a legal scholar at the academic institution. “I believe that this matter should be examined, because the reality that Miteni’s production, intellectual assets and equipment have been transferred to a country like India should lead us to reflect, minimally, on the power that these multinationals have to relocate in countries where there is evidently a lowering of standards in terms of environmental protection.” Ongoing Risks Miteni has closed down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to Pfas production are expected to impact communities that are facing an unsafe environment for generations. “That region has experienced sufficient ecological damage already,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”