On 26 June 2025, the Court of Assise in Vicenza delivered a landmark judgment in the long-running case concerning PFAS contamination across the provinces of Vicenza, Padua, and Verona. Eleven of fifteen former managers of the chemical company Miteni S.p.A., based in Trissino (Vicenza), were convicted in the first instance for serious environmental offences, including intentional water poisoning and deliberate environmental disaster. The total prison sentences amount to 141 years, with individual sentences ranging from 2 years and 8 months to 17 years and 6 months.

Background of the case

The case centred around the industrial production of PFAS at the Miteni plant in Trissino. PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are synthetic chemicals used in various industrial applications because of their extreme resistance to heat, fats, and water. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they are highly persistent, bioaccumulative, and linked to serious health risks, including cancer, liver damage, reproductive issues, and thyroid disease.

Miteni and its predecessors had been producing PFAS since the late 1960s, however the contamination was first officially detected in 2013, when investigations by the regional environmental protection agency (ARPAV) revealed widespread contamination of groundwater and drinking water in the area, affecting an estimated 350.000 residents. 

According to prosecutors, the company had been aware of the pollution risks and the harmful effects of PFAS but continued operations without adequate environmental protections. The court ruled that managers had knowingly discharged toxic substances into the environment over a period of decades.

Court findings and reparations

The Vicenza Court found the defendants guilty on multiple counts, including intentional water poisoning, unclassified environmental disaster, illegal waste management, and environmental pollution, although the last charge, related to improper waste handling, was dismissed due to statute limitations.

Compensation was also awarded to over 300 civil parties, including individuals, municipalities, water authorities, and environmental agencies. The Ministry of Environment will receive €58 million, the Region of Veneto €6.5 million, and  ARPAV approximately €800.000. Private claimants, such as affected residents and community groups are to receive between €15.000 and €20.000 each. However, former Miteni workers were excluded from compensation, a decision the court reserved for full justification in its forthcoming detailed motives.

Separate work-related ruling

On 13 May 2025, a separate labour tribunal in Vicenza awarded a survivor’s pension to heirs from a former Miteni worker who died of a pelvic renal tumor in 2014, ruling for the first time in Italy that such a death was occupationally linked to PFAS exposure. The deceased had worked at the Trissino plant between 1979 and 1992. 

Broader implications

PFAS are dubbed “forever chemicals” due to their long-term environmental persistence and health implications. The recognition of criminal accountability of top executives and the first-ever judicial recognition of a link between exposure to PFAS and an occupational disease mark a major breakthrough in environmental law in Italy. 

The trial lasted approximately four years, encompassing over 140 hearings, and received crucial scientific support from ARPAV, which carried out more than 50.000 environmental samples since 2013. For the Province of Vicenza, the government of Veneto, and local citizen groups, this decision represents a long-awaited victory in the struggle for environmental justice.