Where Does a European Manufacturing Facility That Contaminated Water Supplies Go Next? Heading to India

The dense tropical forest and reddish-brown hills of Lote, located on India’s west coast, lead to a modest rise where a industrial facility stands against the sky.

The factory is largely newly built, but its machinery is far from new: it comes from the former Miteni plant in Vicenza, Italy. Miteni closed down in 2018 following among the most severe ecological controversies in the country’s recent history: after decades of producing Pfas forever chemicals, the firm’s leadership was prosecuted for contaminating water sources in an area home to 350,000 residents. In June, previous company leaders were convicted at the Vicenza court of causing environmental pollution and other charges and given prison sentences, which they are expected to appeal against.

Understanding PFAS: Toxicity Levels and Exposure Routes

And yet, all of the company’s equipment, its intellectual property and methods – all required components to manufacture forever chemicals – is now located at Lote Parshuram MIDC, a large industrial zone almost 4,000 miles away, wedged between local communities and groves of trees. And the factory has just started to produce forever chemicals again.

An Environmental Burden

Once known for its expertise in creating methods for advanced chemicals, Miteni is now infamous for the toxic legacy it left behind. In 2011, researchers found extraordinarily high levels of Pfas in the plant’s wastewater. Hundreds of thousands of inhabitants had been subjected through potable water.

The most impacted were Miteni’s employees. Ilario Ermetti, 69, who worked for decades in its specialty chemicals division, showed among the top levels of PFAS ever recorded in blood samples. “After the facts emerged, I looked at a catalog of health issues associated with Pfas, and found out I had them all,” states Ermetti.

High levels of PFAS in the bloodstream are linked to higher chances of cancer, heart conditions, organ impairment, fertility issues and more. 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 offspring’s blood tests showed elevated amounts of persistent pollutants. When she found out that Miteni’s proprietary information and machinery were being sent 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 bought in 2019 by a pharmaceutical firm, a branch of the domestic chemical corporation Laxmi Organic Industries – the only bidder in the open sale. By early 2023, all the equipment was travelling on freight ships en route to Mumbai. Meanwhile, Laxmi was boasting of its new acquisition to investors. Records of investor gatherings indicate that Laxmi’s management minimized ecological worries, with its president, Harshvardhan Goenka, declaring that Miteni was “doing everything legally according to EU regulations”.

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 ecological offenses and false accounting at the recent court case and sentenced to six years and four months in prison. Per a ex-supervisor requesting confidentiality, Nardone was traveling for work to India months before the firm’s collapse.

Although Laxmi bought Miteni’s properties in June 2019, the environmental assessment report for the construction of the plant in Lote shows that in March 2018 the company was already intending to start producing fluorochemicals compatible with Miteni’s offerings. Laxmi Organic Industries declined to answer requests for comment.

Strategic Expansion

By 2021, Laxmi’s strategy clearly outlined the goal to “capture [the] market share of Miteni” and emerge as a top player in the manufacturing of PFAS and specialty chemicals. Shipping records indicate that, to get approval on the quality of the compounds, in 2024 Laxmi began distributing samples to firms with past business relationships 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, colorants, beauty products and additional goods.

Regulatory Context

Investigations have shown that levels of persistent pollutants in the environment are alarmingly high, especially near production sites. But even though international attention is increasing, in India the matter is not yet a policy priority.

“If we look at the regulations, [Pfas] is not present in such guidelines. It’s unacknowledged by the Indian government currently,” said Rajneesh Gautam, an environmental chemist at the academic institution. “Independent research groups across India have conducted studies in different states. But this work are limited in scope, and there are still only a handful.”

Local Impact

Parineeta Dandekar, head of the regional environmental group, says the Lote Parshuram industrial district “has a poor ecological history”. After it was set up in 1986, “the livelihood of fisher folk communities in this area totally deteriorated,” she said.

The industrial area is served by a shared effluent treatment facility that has been frequently criticized.

“Nearby communities have consistently reported that it’s not working properly,” said Dandekar. “During power outages, a common occurrence in the countryside, the facility cannot function and industries discharge contaminated effluent directly into the streams.” Regulatory bodies have sent several warning letters to the site in recent years.

Global Implications

In the EU, the European Chemical Agency is examining a proposal to ban the production, import and use of over ten thousand forever chemicals. This attention may be driving the sector to the global south, according to Claudia Marcolungo, a professor of environmental law at the University of Padua. “I think that this matter should be investigated, because the fact that Miteni’s operations, intellectual assets and machinery have been transferred to a country like India should prompt consideration, minimally, on the power that these multinationals have to move in countries where there is clearly a lowering of standards in terms of ecological safeguards.”

Persistent Threats

Miteni has shut down, but the company’s toxic legacy lives on – at the contaminated site in Vicenza, and in Lote. The health impacts associated with PFAS manufacturing are expected to impact populations that are facing an unsafe environment for years to come.

“The area has seen enough environmental destruction by now,” says Dandekar. “Should additional hazardous firms establish presence, it’s perpetually concerning.”