Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Chemical pollution · Italy · 1968–2025

Miteni PFAS contamination

Nature's voice · report
My water in Vicenza, Padua and Verona carried PFAS from the Trissino plant, and the contamination was officially identified in 2013.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
Recorded
People
  • 1 people died.
    A worker's cancer death in 2014, linked to PFAS exposure in May 2025 according to Peters & Peters.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 3 insufficient See the gaps

Eleven former executives of the Miteni chemical plant at Trissino, Veneto, were sentenced at first instance in June 2025 to 141 years in total over PFAS contamination that affected about 350,000 people. The company, sold for €1 in 2009, went bankrupt in 2018.

141 yearsTotal prison terms for 11 former executives (first instance)
Individual sentences of 2 years 8 months to 17 years 6 months; verdict of 26 June 2025; appeal status not known.

Status As of the court's reasoning reported in December 2025: 11 former executives were convicted at first instance on 26 June 2025; the appeal status is not known in the sources reviewed.

What?
PFAS contamination of water around the Miteni plant at Trissino, Veneto; 11 former executives were convicted at first instance in 2025. University of Padua Human Rights Centre
Where?
Trissino, province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy; effects in Vicenza, Padua and Verona. University of Padua Human Rights Centre
When?
Production from 1968 (per the sources reviewed); contamination officially identified in 2013; bankruptcy in 2018; verdict on 26 June 2025. University of Padua Human Rights Centre
Who?
Gained
  • Miteni's owners (Mitsubishi, later ICIG) — Operated the plant, which the sources reviewed date from 1968 to the 2018 bankruptcy; the court's reasoning found the company knew of the pollution by 2009 at the latest and did not intervene because it would burden the balance sheet. No profit figure is recorded. Il Fatto Alimentare
Lost
  • Public bodies and taxpayers — The state (€80M) and MOSAV (€25M) funded new water networks for 450,000 people. Italpress
  • Former Miteni workers — Left out of the compensation awarded in the judgment. University of Padua Human Rights Centre
Harmed
  • About 350,000 people in Vicenza, Padua and Verona — Affected by PFAS contamination, officially identified in 2013. University of Padua Human Rights Centre
  • A former worker — A 2014 cancer death was linked to PFAS exposure in May 2025, according to Peters & Peters. Peters & Peters
Why?
In the court's reasoning as reported, Miteni knew of the pollution by 2009 at the latest and did not intervene because the cost would burden the balance sheet. Il Fatto Alimentare
How?
The 11 were convicted of charges including intentional poisoning of drinking water and environmental disaster; the sources reviewed do not describe the discharge pathway. University of Padua Human Rights Centre
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Miteni operated a chemical plant at Trissino, in the province of Vicenza in the Veneto region of Italy. the sources reviewed give 1968 as the start of production and 2018 as the year of bankruptcy, and describe the owners as Mitsubishi and later ICIG. The contamination was officially identified in 2013 by the Veneto regional environmental agency, ARPAV, and affected about 350,000 people in Vicenza, Padua and Verona.

On 26 June 2025 the Assize Court (Corte d'Assise) of Vicenza convicted 11 of 15 former Miteni executives to prison terms totalling 141 years, ranging from 2 years 8 months to 17 years 6 months. The charges included intentional poisoning of drinking water and an environmental disaster. The convicted included three former Mitsubishi board members and ICIG executives. The court awarded €58 million to the Environment Ministry, €6.5 million to the Veneto Region and €15,000–20,000 to individuals; former workers were left out of the compensation. The verdict is a first-instance ruling.

In December 2025 press coverage of the court's reasoning reported that Miteni had known of the pollution since 2009 at the latest and did not intervene because the cost would burden the balance sheet. The company had been sold for €1 in 2009 and later went bankrupt.

Publicly funded new water networks supplying 450,000 people in the Veneto without filters were built in 2023–2024, paid for with €80 million from the state and €25 million from MOSAV. In May 2025 the 2014 cancer death of a worker was linked to PFAS exposure, according to the law firm Peters & Peters.

  1. 1968PFAS production begins at Trissino (per the sources reviewed)
  2. 2008A remediation estimate of €12–18 million is recorded
  3. 2009Miteni is sold for €1; the court's reasoning later finds the company knew of the pollution by this year at the latest
  4. 2013Contamination is officially identified by the regional environmental agency ARPAV
  5. 2014Death of a worker from cancer, later linked to PFAS exposure
  6. 2018Miteni goes bankrupt
  7. 2023New publicly funded water networks for 450,000 people built in 2023–2024 (€80M state, €25M MOSAV)
  8. 2025May: worker's death linked to PFAS; 26 Jun: 11 former executives convicted at first instance, 141 years in total; Dec: reasoning published

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • The Vicenza Assize Court convicted 11 of 15 former Miteni executives on 26 June 2025; total 141 years; individual sentences from 2 years 8 months to 17 years 6 months; charges included intentional poisoning of drinking water and environmental disaster.
      University of Padua Human Rights Centre
    • The contamination affected about 350,000 people in Vicenza, Padua and Verona and was officially identified in 2013.
      University of Padua Human Rights Centre
    • The court awarded €58 million to the Environment Ministry, €6.5 million to the Veneto Region and €15,000–20,000 to individuals; former workers were left out of the compensation.
      University of Padua Human Rights Centre
    • Three former Mitsubishi board members were among the convicted. In May 2025 a worker's 2014 cancer death was linked to PFAS exposure.
      Peters & Peters
    • The court's reasoning, published in December 2025, found that Miteni knew of the pollution by 2009 at the latest and did not intervene because it would burden the balance sheet; the company was sold for €1 in 2009.
      Il Fatto Alimentare
    • New water networks for 450,000 people without filters were built with public money: €80 million from the state and €25 million from MOSAV.
      Italpress
    • The research table records a 2008 remediation estimate of €12–18 million and PFAS in more than 300 municipalities in the Veneto.
    • Il Post reported the convictions of 11 former executives of Miteni and ICIG for water poisoning and environmental disaster, 141 years in total.
      Il Post

    Who gained

    Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

    Reached nature or the ground

    €65m
    Awarded in a first-instance judgment; collection from the company is not known.
    Damages awarded to the Environment Ministry (first instance; payment not recorded)€58m
    Damages awarded to the Veneto Region (first instance; payment not recorded)€6.5m

    Gained elsewhere

    Not totalled
    Reached the ground
    €65m
    Currency: EUR · Window: 2025. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2025-06-26Claimant won€58m Awarded to the Environment Ministry, in millions (plus €6.5M to the Veneto Region)
      Miteni PFAS criminal trial
      Assize Court (Corte d'Assise) of Vicenza · Criminal · State (prosecution), with civil parties including the Environment Ministry and the Veneto Region → 15 former executives of Miteni and ICIG; 11 convicted at first instance

      The court convicted 11 of 15 former executives, with prison terms totalling 141 years (2 years 8 months to 17 years 6 months each). Charges included intentional poisoning of drinking water and environmental disaster. It awarded €58 million to the Environment Ministry, €6.5 million to the Veneto Region and €15,000–20,000 to individuals; former workers were left out of the compensation. The ruling is a first-instance decision and is not final; the appeal status is not known. University of Padua Human Rights Centre

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    People affected
    About 350,000
    Vicenza, Padua and Verona; contamination officially identified in 2013
    Prison terms, first instance
    141 years in total
    11 of 15 former executives; 2 years 8 months to 17 years 6 months each
    Damages awarded to the Environment Ministry
    €58 million
    First instance; collection from the company not known

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    Court ruling existsDeaths reported

    Record

    • None on record The appeal status of the first-instance verdict is not known in the sources reviewed.
    • None on record Miteni went bankrupt; whether the damages awarded were collected from the company is not known.
    • None on record The cost of water filters in the Veneto was not found.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a corporate penalty of €125,000 and a confiscation of €437,000 against the company.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the Indian company Laxmi Organic bought Miteni's machinery, REACH registrations and patents.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the 'Mamme No PFAS' mothers' movement played a role in bringing the case.

    Did the harm stop?

    The company went bankrupt in 2018. Publicly funded water networks for 450,000 people without filters were built in 2023–2024. The sources reviewed do not record whether the environmental contamination itself has ended.

    Who paid?

    Public bodies: €80 million from the state and €25 million from MOSAV paid for new water networks. The company went bankrupt, and collection of the damages awarded is not known.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    PFOA (C8) and PFAS
    PFAS are a large family of human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and the body; PFOA, also called C8, is one of them and was used to make Teflon.

    Bonds and banking

    Liquidation, insolvency, bankruptcy
    Legal processes that apply when a company cannot pay its debts; its assets are sold and claims against it may go unpaid.
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