scholarly journals Tear gas safety and usage practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Brown ◽  
Carey E. Lyons ◽  
Carlee Toddes ◽  
Timothy Monko ◽  
Roman Tyshynsky
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Regulatory Oversight ◽  
Gas Utilization ◽  
Crowd Control ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
Tear Gas ◽  
History Of ◽  
Current Utilization

While the U.N. Chemical Weapons Convention bans tear gas and other chemical weapons from use in war, their use is still allowed in domestic policing. Public concern about tear gas utilization increases when social justice protesters are subjected to these chemical demonstration control agents. The history of tear gas utilization by law enforcement in the U.S. is rife with corruption and racist intent. Furthermore, the scientific evidence supporting the safety of tear gas is lacking due to both the misinterpretation of public health studies and the paucity of controlled experiments. We find that the current utilization of tear gas is a threat to public health, free speech, and possibly falls outside of the exception for domestic use. We discuss policy alternatives that include alternative crowd control methods, changes to protocols for tear gas deployment and post-use review, increased regulatory oversight, and the possibility of a complete tear gas ban.

scholarly journals Painful chemistry! From barbecue smoke to riot control

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Green ◽  
Farrha B. Hopkins ◽  
Christopher D. Lindsay ◽  
James R. Riches ◽  
Christopher M. Timperley
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Sensory Nerve ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
Tear Gas ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Riot Control

AbstractPain! Most humans feel it throughout their lives. The molecular mechanisms underlying the phenomenon are still poorly understood. This is especially true of pain triggered in response to molecules of a certain shape and reactivity present in the environment. Such molecules can interact with the sensory nerve endings of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs to cause irritation that can range from mild to severe. The ability to alert to the presence of such potentially harmful substances has been termed the ‘common chemical sense’ and is thought to be distinct from the senses of smell or taste, which are presumed to have evolved later. Barbecue a burger excessively and you self-experiment. Fatty acids present in the meat break off their glycerol anchor under the thermal stress. The glycerol loses two molecules of water and forms acrolein, whose assault on the eyes is partly responsible for the tears elicited by smoke. Yet the smell and taste of the burger are different experiences. It was this eye-watering character of acrolein that prompted its use as a warfare agent during World War I. It was one of several ‘lachrymators’ deployed to harass, and the forerunner of safer chemicals, such as ‘tear gas’ CS, developed for riot control. The history of development and mechanism of action of some sensory irritants is discussed here in relation to recent advice from the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on chemicals that conform to the definition of a riot control agent (RCA) under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Halogen-Induced Chemical Injury to the Mammalian Cardiopulmonary Systems

Physiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 272-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan R. Addis ◽  
Saurabh Aggarwal ◽  
Ahmed Lazrak ◽  
Tamas Jilling ◽  
Sadis Matalon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Viral Infections ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Mechanisms Of Action ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Chronic Injury ◽  
Pharmacological Agents ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
Toxic Gases ◽  
History Of

The halogens chlorine (Cl2) and bromine (Br2) are highly reactive oxidizing elements with widespread industrial applications and a history of development and use as chemical weapons. When inhaled, depending on the dose and duration of exposure, they cause acute and chronic injury to both the lungs and systemic organs that may result in the development of chronic changes (such as fibrosis) and death from cardiopulmonary failure. A number of conditions, such as viral infections, coexposure to other toxic gases, and pregnancy increase susceptibility to halogens significantly. Herein we review their danger to public health, their mechanisms of action, and the development of pharmacological agents that when administered post-exposure decrease morbidity and mortality.

Behind the Gas Mask

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas I. Faith
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
Chemical Warfare ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Military Government ◽  
World War ◽  
Private Industry ◽  
Crowd Control ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Military ◽  
Modern War

This book offers an institutional history of the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS), the department tasked with improving the Army's ability to use and defend against chemical weapons during and after World War I. Taking the CWS's story from the trenches to peacetime, the book explores how the CWS's work on chemical warfare continued through the 1920s despite deep opposition to the weapons in both military and civilian circles. As the book shows, the advocates for chemical weapons within the CWS allied with supporters in the military, government, and private industry to lobby to add chemical warfare to the country's permanent arsenal. Their argument: poison gas represented an advanced and even humane tool in modern war, while its applications for pest control and crowd control made a chemical capacity relevant in peacetime. But conflict with those aligned against chemical warfare forced the CWS to fight for its institutional life—and ultimately led to the U.S. military's rejection of battlefield chemical weapons.

scholarly journals The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction: History of Signing and Key Points

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-115
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Holy Roman Empire ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
Key Points ◽  
The First World War ◽  
History Of ◽  
First World

The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (the Chemical Weapons Convention or CWC) was approved by the U.N. General Assembly on 30 November 1992. The treaty entered into force on 29 April 1997. The aim of this work was to study the history of signing of the CWC and its key points. First attempts to develop an international agreement restricting the use of poisons and various toxic substances in hostilities have been made in the 17th century, when the 1675 Strasbourg Agreement between France and the Holy Roman Empire banned the use of poisoned bullets. During the First and Second Peace Conferences in The Hague (1899 and 1907), its participants pledged to refrain from employing «poison or poisoned arms» and from employing «arms, projectiles, or material of a nature to cause superfluous injury». The First World War showed that this ban turned out to be ineffective, and chemical weapons appeared on the battlefield. After the war, the «Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare», known as the Geneva Protocol of 1925, was developed. But this document did not ban the elaboration and the production of chemical weapons. The High Contracting Parties agreed not to use «asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials or devices» against those States only, that acceded to the Protocol. Moreover, many States-Parties reserved their right to use chemical weapons in response to a first use by an enemy. The Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) showed the ineffectiveness of the Geneva Protocol of 1925. Iraq’s massive use of chemical weapons against Iranian troops has accelerated the process of developing an international document – the CWC, the world`s first multilateral disarmament agreement, which provided for the verifiable elimination, within the prescribed time limit, of an entire class of weapons of mass destruction – chemical weapons. Nowadays 192 states have become parties to the CWC. The Russian Federation fully complied with the obligations undertaken by the CWC, the last Russian chemical munition was destroyed in September 2017

Comparative Analysis: The State of Colorado Study, Part II

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham ◽  
Kathryn Mueller ◽  
Douglas Van Zet ◽  
Debra J. Northrup ◽  
Edward B. Whitney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Daily Living ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Pain Syndrome ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Clinical Assessments ◽  
Physician Judgment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
Causation Analysis ◽  
Work Interference

Abstract [Continued from the January/February 2004 issue of The Guides Newsletter.] To understand discrepancies in reviewers’ ratings of impairments based on different editions of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), users can usefully study the history of the revisions as successive editions attempted to provide a comprehensive, valid, reliable, unbiased, and evidence-based system. Some shortcomings of earlier editions have been addressed in the AMA Guides, Fifth Edition, but problems remain with each edition, largely because of the limited scientific evidence available. In the context of the history of the different editions of the AMA Guides and their development, the authors discuss and contextualize a number of key terms and principles including the following: definitions of impairment and normal; activities of daily living; maximum medical improvement; impairment percentages; conversion of regional impairments; combining impairments; pain and other subjective complaints; physician judgment; and causation analysis; finally, the authors note that impairment is not synonymous with disability or work interference. The AMA Guides, Fifth Edition, contrasts impairment evaluations and independent medical evaluations (this was not done in previous editions) and discusses impairment evaluations, rules for evaluations, and report standards. Upper extremity and lower extremity impairment evaluations are discussed in terms of clinical assessments and rating processes, analyzing important changes between editions and problematic areas (eg, complex regional pain syndrome).

Treatment of varicose tributaries with sclerotherapy with polidocanol 0.5 % foam

VASA ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reich-Schupke ◽  
Weyer ◽  
Altmeyer ◽  
Stücker
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Severe Adverse Effect ◽  
Safe Procedure ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Foam Sclerotherapy ◽  
History Of ◽  
One Year ◽  
Additional Therapy

Background: Although foam sclerotherapy of varicose tributaries is common in daily practice, scientific evidence for the optimal sclerosant-concentration and session-frequency is still low. This study aimed to increase the knowledge on foam sclerotherapy of varicose tributaries and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of foam sclerotherapy with 0.5 % polidocanol in tributaries with 3-6 mm in diameter. Patients and methods: Analysis of 110 legs in 76 patients. Injections were given every second or third day. A maximum of 1 injection / leg and a volume of 2ml / injection were administered per session. Controls were performed approximately 6 months and 12 months after the start of therapy. Results: 110 legs (CEAP C2-C4) were followed up for a period of 14.2 ± 4.2 months. Reflux was eliminated after 3.4 ± 2.7 injections per leg. Insufficient tributaries were detected in 23.2 % after 6.2 ± 0.9 months and in 48.2 % after 14.2 ± 4.2 months, respectively. Only 30.9 % (34 / 110) of the legs required additional therapy. In 6.4 % vein surgery was performed, in 24.5 % similar sclerotherapy was repeated. Significantly fewer sclerotherapy-sessions were required compared to the initial treatment (mean: 2.3 ± 1.4, p = 0.0054). During the whole study period thrombophlebitis (8.2 %), hyperpigmentation (14.5 %), induration in the treated region (9.1 %), pain in the treated leg (7.3 %) and migraine (0.9 %) occurred. One patient with a history of thrombosis developed thrombosis of a muscle vein (0.9 %). After one year there were just hyperpigmentation (8.2 %) and induration (1.8 %) left. No severe adverse effect occurred. Conclusions: Foam sclerotherapy with injections of 0.5 % polidocanol every 2nd or 3rd day, is a safe procedure for varicose tributaries. The evaluation of efficacy is difficult, as it can hardly be said whether the detected tributaries in the controls are recurrent veins or have recently developed in the follow-up period. The low number of retreated legs indicates a high efficacy and satisfaction of the patients.

PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM IN THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN SOCIOLOGY

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-159
Author(s):  
I.E. Levchenko ◽  
◽  
A.Y. Kuznetsov ◽  
E.G. Korniltseva ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Problem ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
History Of

Japanese-language videos on YouTube as a source of public health information for COVID-19 (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeo Yasu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The State ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Public Health Information ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Spread Of Infection

BACKGROUND Serious public health problems, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can cause an infodemic. Sources of information that may cause an infodemic include social networking services; YouTube, which consists of content created and uploaded by individuals, is one such source. OBJECTIVE To survey the content and changes in YouTube videos that present public health information about COVID-19 in Japan. METHODS We surveyed YouTube content regarding public health information pertaining to COVID-19 in Japan. YouTube searches were performed on March 6, 2020 (before the state of emergency), April 14 (during the state of emergency), and May 27 (after the state of emergency was lifted), with 136, 113, and 140 sample videos evaluated, respectively. The main outcome measures were: (1) The total number of views for each video, (2) video content, and (3) the usefulness of the video. RESULTS In the 100 most viewed YouTube videos during the three periods, the number of videos on public health information in March was significantly higher than in May (p = .02). Of the 331 unique videos, 9.1% (n = 30) were released by healthcare professionals. Useful videos providing public health information about the prevention of the spread of infection comprised only 13.0% of the sample but were viewed significantly more often than not useful videos (p = .006). CONCLUSIONS Individuals need to take care when obtaining information from YouTube before or early in a pandemic, during which time scientific evidence is scarce.

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