Just how many hazardous chemicals are going through Laem Chabang port?

That was the first explanation we heard after the fire that happened last Saturday, May 25, when containers from the KMTC Hongkong burst into flames at Laem Chabang Port, south east of Bangkok. The port area is just to the north of Pattaya on the eastern seaboard. Firefighters spent nearly 18 hours battling the confounding blaze as it spread through the containers on the ship billowing toxic fumes and plumes of smoke, causing 228 people, including nearby residents, to be rushed to hospital with burns, eye irritation and breathing difficulties.Financial losses, still not fully accounted for, are estimated at well over 100 million baht, according to a report in the Bangkok Post.When a 15 kilometre radius was declared around the site as a ‘red zone’ local Thais became rightfully suspicious that a few dolls and toys going up in smoke could cause so much disruption.
Later it was declared that the dolls and toys were actually calcium hypochlorite, a flammable and potentially dangerous chemical. But authorities had to analyse the chemicals that had caused so much damage and smoke because there was no record of it being in the containers on the ship.