🔗 Share this article To Which Location Will a Western Manufacturing Facility That Contaminated Water Supplies Go Next? Heading to India The lush green jungle and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s western shoreline, lead to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands against the sky. The factory is almost brand new, but its machinery is not: it originates from the defunct Miteni factory in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni ceased operations in 2018 after among the most severe environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after years of manufacturing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was brought to trial for contaminating water sources in an area inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were found guilty at the local tribunal of environmental damage and additional offenses and sentenced to jail, which they are expected to appeal against. Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes And yet, the entire operational setup, its patents and methods – all required components to produce Pfas – is now here in Lote Parshuram MIDC, a vast industrial enclave almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between villages and wooded areas. And the factory has just started to produce forever chemicals again. A Toxic Legacy Previously recognized for its specialism in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it bequeathed. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the facility’s effluent. Numerous 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, displayed one of the highest concentrations of PFAS documented in blood samples. “When the story came to light, I reviewed a catalog of health issues related to PFAS, and discovered I had them all,” states Ermetti. Former Miteni worker Ilario Ermetti showed a high concentration of PFAS in his blood. High levels of Pfas in the blood are associated with increased risk of malignancies, heart conditions, organ impairment, reproductive disorders and additional ailments. Ermetti is presently recuperating from a recent surgical operation. Public Apprehensions Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and activist with Mamme No Pfas, began mobilizing after discovering her children’s blood showed elevated amounts of persistent pollutants. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being transferred to India, she was stunned. “As mothers, as females, our concern has grown,” she said. “Because our children are everyone’s children.” Corporate Transition Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were acquired in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a subsidiary of the Indian chemical company 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. Transcripts of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s executives downplayed ecological worries, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with EU regulations”. Goenka is one of the three men on the board of Laxmi Organic Italy, a entity established in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was found guilty of ecological offenses and financial misreporting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in prison. According to a former mid-level manager speaking on condition of anonymity, Nardone was traveling for work to India prior to the firm’s collapse. While Laxmi purchased Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the ecological review for the building of the factory in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already planning to start producing fluorochemicals compatible with Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries did not respond to requests for comment. Growth Plans By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined the goal to “acquire the customer base of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the production of Pfas and fluorochemicals. Logistics data show that, to get approval on the quality of the chemicals, in 2024 Laxmi started sending out test batches to firms 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 completely active, manufacturing substances that will be used in agrochemicals, medicines, colorants, beauty products and other products. Regulatory Context Studies have shown that levels of persistent pollutants in the ecosystem are alarmingly high, especially near production sites. But although international attention is growing, in India the matter is not on the political agenda yet. “If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is absent in those standards. It’s not recognised by the national authorities as of today,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Autonomous study teams across India have performed research in various regions. But these studies are restricted in range, 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 manufacturing zone “has a poor ecological history”. After it was established in 1986, “the livelihood of fisher folk communities in this region totally deteriorated,” she said. The industrial area is dependent on a shared effluent treatment facility that has been at the forefront of complaints. “Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a frequent event in the countryside, the plant cannot function and factories discharge polluted water directly into the streams.” Environmental authorities have sent several warning letters to the site in the past few years. International Ramifications In the EU, the regulatory agency is reviewing a plan to prohibit the manufacture, importation and utilization of more than 10,000 persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the sector to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I believe that this issue should be examined, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, patents and machinery have been relocated to a country like India should lead us to reflect, minimally, on the power that these global corporations have to move in nations where there is evidently a race to the bottom in terms of environmental protection.” Persistent Threats Miteni has shut down, but the company’s toxic legacy continues – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts linked to Pfas production are likely to affect communities 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 perpetually concerning.”