Indians protest over ‘forever chemicals’ after relocation of scandal-hit Italian factory

Protests over the production of cancer-linked Pfas chemicals have spread across India, after an investigation revealed that an Italian factory shut down due to an environmental scandal was bought by an Indian company and partly rebuilt.

At the end of last year, the Guardianrevealed that the former Miteni plant in Vicenza had been acquired by the Indian company Laxmi Organic Industries. The factory produced Pfas and was shut down in 2018 after being linked to one of Italy’s worst environmental contamination scandals.

In June 2025, former Miteni executives were convicted over contamination linked to the plant, in a first-instance ruling widely seen as a landmark for environmental justice in Europe.

The factory left behind the contamination of one of Europe’s largest aquifers, affecting more than 350,000 people across the provinces of Vicenza, Verona and Padua through the drinking water. Miteni’s workers were worst affected, with one former employee showing one of the highest concentrations of Pfas ever recorded in human blood.

High levels of Pfas in the blood are associated with increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, liver and kidney damage, reproductive disorders and more.

The factory’s equipment was dismantled, shipped and reassembled in Lote Parshuram, south of Mumbai. Its purpose remained the same: producing Pfas, often referred to as “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the environment.

The investigation revealed that Laxmi included in its portfolio some of the same products once manufactured by Miteni and maintained commercial relationships with clients that previously sourced from the Italian company. Laxmi has denied allegations of pollution.

Since early 2025, Laxmi’s site in Lote Parshuram has been fully operational, producing chemicals that will be used in pesticides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, cosmetics and other products.

After publication of the Guardian’s investigation, protests and political debate have spread across India. On 8 January, the first protest took place outside the gates of the Lote plant, followed live by multiple television channels.

On 2 February, the issue reached India’s parliament. In the Rajya Sabha, the upper house, the MP Pramod Tiwari called for a federal investigation into the authorisation process, highlighting that India still had no specific regulation on Pfas.

“This pollution-related controversy has exposed major concerns over the transfer from Europe to India of industrial equipment linked to pollution, and over the lack of Pfas regulations in the country,” Tiwari said.