Tear Gas

Police use tear gas against protestors

Chemical compound that causes a flow of tears and irritation of the skin.

Use

It is widely used for training, riot control, and situations where long-term incapacitation is unacceptable.

Riot control agents

Riot control agents are commonly called “tear gas”

Mechanism of action

These compounds temporarily make people unable to function by causing irritation to the eyes, mouth, throat, lungs, and skin.

What chemicals are in tear gas?

The most common compounds are known as chloroacetophenone (CN) and chlorobenzylidenemalononitrile (CS). Other examples include chloropicrin (PS), which is also used as a fumigant (that is, a substance that uses fumes to disinfect an area); bromobenzylcyanide (CA); dibenzoxazepine (CR); and combinations of various agents.

Where riot control agents are found and how they are used

• Riot control agents are used by law enforcement officials for crowd control and by individuals and the general public for personal protection (for example, pepper spray).
• CS is also used in military settings to test the speed and ability of military personnel to use their gas masks.

Tear gas canister

How you could be exposed to riot control agents

• Because they are liquids or solids (for example, powder), riot control agents such as CN and CS could be released in the air as fine droplets or particles.
• If agents are released into the air, people could be exposed to them through skin contact, eye contact, or breathing.

How riot control agents work

• The extent of poisoning caused by riot control agents depends on the amount of riot control agent to which a person was exposed, the location of exposure (indoors versus outdoors), how the person was exposed, and the length of time of the exposure.
• Riot control agents work by causing irritation to the area of contact (for example, eyes, skin, nose) within seconds of exposure.
• The effects of exposure to a riot control agent are usually short-lived (15–30 minutes) after the person has been removed from the source and decontaminated (cleaned off).

Tear gas use

Immediate signs and symptoms of exposure to a riot control agent

People exposed to riot control agents may experience some or all of the following symptoms immediately after exposure:

• Eyes: excessive tearing, burning, blurred vision, redness
• Nose: runny nose, burning, swelling
• Mouth: burning, irritation, difficulty swallowing, drooling
• Lungs: chest tightness, coughing, choking sensation, noisy breathing (wheezing), shortness of breath
• Skin: burns, rash
• Other: nausea and vomiting

Long-lasting exposure or exposure to a large dose of riot control agent, especially in a closed setting, may cause severe effects such as the following:

• Blindness
• Glaucoma (a serious eye condition that can lead to blindness)
• Immediate death due to severe chemical burns to the throat and lungs
• Respiratory failure possibly resulting in death

Showing these signs and symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has been exposed to riot control agents.

Long-term health effects of exposure to riot control agents

• Prolonged exposure, especially in an enclosed area, may lead to long-term effects such as eye problems including scarring, glaucoma, and cataracts, and may possibly cause breathing problems such as asthma.
• If symptoms go away soon after a person is removed from exposure to riot control agents, long-term health effects are unlikely to occur.