Where Will a European Chemical Plant Which Polluted Water Supplies Move On? 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 factory looms under the open sky.

The factory is almost brand new, but its equipment is not: it originates from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following one of the worst environmental scandals in the country’s recent history: after decades of producing persistent PFAS compounds, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for contaminating water resources in an area inhabited by 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the Vicenza court of environmental damage and additional offenses 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, the entire operational setup, its patents and processes – all required components to manufacture forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone thousands of miles distant, sandwiched among villages and wooded areas. And the plant has recently begun to produce forever chemicals again.

A Toxic Legacy

Once known for its specialism in creating methods for specialty compounds, Miteni is now infamous for the harmful aftermath it left behind. In 2011, scientists found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the facility’s effluent. Numerous of residents had been exposed through potable water.

The worst-affected were Miteni’s own workers. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who was employed for years in its specialty chemicals division, displayed one of the highest concentrations of Pfas documented in blood samples. “After the facts emerged, I reviewed a catalog of health issues related to Pfas, and discovered I had them all,” states Ermetti.

High levels of Pfas in the blood are associated with higher chances of malignancies, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, fertility issues and additional ailments. Ermetti is currently recovering from a recent surgical operation.

Public Apprehensions

Michela Piccoli, 51, a nurse and campaigner with Mamme No Pfas, started organizing after learning her offspring’s blood tests indicated elevated amounts of forever chemicals. When she found out that Miteni’s patents and equipment were being sent to India, she was stunned.

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

Corporate Transition

Following Miteni’s insolvency, its assets were bought in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the sole participant in the open sale. By early 2023, all the equipment was travelling on freight ships heading to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its recent purchase to investors. Transcripts of investor gatherings show that Laxmi’s management minimized environmental concerns, with its chairman, Harshvardhan Goenka, stating that Miteni was “operating lawfully in compliance with EU regulations”.

Goenka is one of the three men on the board of Laxmi Organic the Italian branch, a entity founded in 2021. Another is Antonio Nardone, the last chief executive of Miteni, who was convicted of ecological offenses and false accounting at the June trial 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 prior to the company went bankrupt.

While Laxmi purchased Miteni’s assets in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the building of the factory in Lote shows that in March 2018 the firm was already planning to commence manufacturing fluorinated compounds compatible with Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s plan clearly outlined the goal to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and become a leader in the production of PFAS and fluorochemicals. Shipping records show that, to get approval on the standard of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing samples to companies with previous commercial ties with Miteni, such as BASF, Chemours, DuPont and FMC.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s location in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, producing chemicals that will be used in agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, colorants, beauty products and additional goods.

Environmental Oversight

Studies have shown that concentrations of forever chemicals in the environment are alarmingly high, especially near manufacturing facilities. But although global focus is growing, in India the issue is not yet a policy priority.

“Examining the rules, [Pfas] is absent in such guidelines. It’s unacknowledged by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “Independent research groups across India have performed research in various regions. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, coordinator of the regional environmental group, 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 chemical district is served by a centralised wastewater treatment plant that has been at the forefront of complaints.

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s malfunctioning,” said Dandekar. “When there is no electricity, a common occurrence in rural Maharashtra state, the plant cannot function and factories release polluted water directly into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have issued multiple notices to the site in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the regulatory agency is reviewing a plan to prohibit the manufacture, import and utilization of over ten thousand persistent compounds. This scrutiny may be driving the sector to the developing nations, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the academic institution. “I think that this matter should be investigated, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, patents and equipment have been relocated to a nation like India should prompt consideration, minimally, 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 shut down, but the company’s toxic legacy lives on – at the polluted location in Vicenza, and in Lote. The medical effects associated with Pfas production are expected to impact populations that are facing an hazardous setting for generations.

“That region has experienced sufficient environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “If more dangerous companies establish presence, it’s always a risk.”