Miteni Chemical Plant’s PFAS Production Moves from Italy to India Amid Environmental Controversy
Following a major environmental scandal in Italy, the bankrupt Miteni chemical plant’s machinery, patents, and production processes for toxic PFAS chemicals were acquired by Indian company Laxmi Organic Industries. The factory in Lote, India, became operational in early 2025, continuing PFAS production despite unresolved environmental and health concerns linked to the chemicals' persistence and toxicity.
The Miteni chemical plant in Vicenza, Italy, closed in 2018 after being implicated in one of the country’s worst environmental scandals due to pollution by PFAS 'forever chemicals' affecting over 350,000 residents through contaminated drinking water. Eleven former executives of Miteni were found guilty and sentenced in 2024 for causing environmental pollution. After bankruptcy, all of Miteni’s equipment, patents, and production technologies were purchased in 2019 by Viva Lifesciences, a subsidiary of India’s Laxmi Organic Industries. By early 2023, the equipment was shipped to Lote, Maharashtra, where a new factory began PFAS chemical production in 2025, targeting markets for pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. This relocation reflects a 'race to the bottom' in environmental regulation since PFAS chemicals are not yet recognized or regulated in India. Locals worry about further environmental degradation in the Lote industrial district, already known for pollution and ineffective wastewater treatment. Despite European authorities moving to ban PFAS production, the transfer highlights corporate power to circumvent regulations by shifting hazardous industries to countries with weaker environmental protections, thus extending Miteni’s toxic legacy across continents.
