On October 28, 2020, the Department of Industrial Works conducted an on-site inspection of TC Union Agrotech, a factory engaged in fishmeal production, fishmeal entrails processing, concentrated fish protein production, and fish oil production, located in Bang Krajao Subdistrict, Mueang District, Samut Sakhon Province. The inspection reported that the “Total Heavy Metals Load” was found to be excessively high.1
TC Union Agrotech did not respond to a request for comment.2
At least 7,100 people live within a half mile of this plant, over 680 of them under the age of 15, while more than 470,000 live within a five-mile radius, over 46,300 under the age of 15, according to 2025 data from World Pop, a research institute based at the University of Southampton.3 This matters because it gives a sense of how many neighbors experience the quality of life concerns and health impacts of the foul stench of rotting fish and other toxic chemicals released into the air.