Portland protesters report severe and lasting side effects from the chemical weapons used during Trump’s “Operation Diligent Valor.”
https://theintercept.com/2020/10/10/portland-tear-gas-chemical-grenades-protests/We have seen ongoing conflict in the USA. I remember when it started, watching on TV my colleagues could not believe the indiscriminate violence being inflicted upon citizens and press.
This article is interesting because it discusses the health and ecological impacts of using chemical weapons domestically.
Not great for people, probably worse than stated:
Mayor Ted Wheeler acknowledged that the city has used “CS” tear gas. The commonly used formulation contains 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, a compound that was designed to induce immediate pain but can also have long-term effects, including chronic bronchitis. In early September, Wheeler ordered the police to stop using it. Tear gas is banned in war but can be used to disperse crowds of civilians.
And also
health effects of hexachloroethane include nausea, vomiting, central nervous system depression, and kidney and liver damage, according to the compound’s material safety data sheet. … The toxic compound also causes fever, chest pain, and liver damage and is associated with anorexia, fatigue, and weight loss.
Really bad for foliage and aquatic life:
HC smoke bomb, which was developed in the 1930s to disperse people and conceal actions on the battlefield, is particularly dangerous to health and the environment. The Military-Style Maximum Smoke HC grenade from Defense Technology is “very toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects” and is “suspected of causing cancer,” according to the grenade’s safety data sheet. Environmental effects of the smoke bombs include defoliation of trees and a long-term reduction in their growth.
What’s really alarming to me is the use of chemical weapons on citizens. It not only represents an unmasking of the brutality in the USA (in terms of showing it to the world), but also marks dangerous escalation and willingness to strip citizens of constitutional rights (e.g. freedom of speech). There are so many manifestations, but the police brutality, to me, is one of the most shocking.
I keep hearing the argument that police are using crowd dispersal tools incorrectly (e.g. firing rubber bullets and tear gas directly at people, rather than bouncing them and so on). While this is true to the best of my knowledge, these chemical weapons (tear gas) should not be used at all. It’s not just that they’re used improperly or expired, but that they cause long term health complications and injury that goes far beyond the purpose of crowd dispersal.
A 1994 report of the U.S. Army Biomedical Research and Development Laboratory notes, “Exposure of unprotected soldiers to high concentrations of HC smoke for even a few minutes has resulted in injuries and fatalities.”
Moreover, I find it terribly interesting to read about the health implications of these weapons. These are banned from use in war zones, but it’s a-ok to spray American citizens with this shit. We’re going to be having “gulf war syndrome” for protestors. Even worse, most of these people won’t have meaningful access to health care.