How safe is teargas?

Apr 25, 2007

SIR — I was saddened by Annet Nakyeyune’s story that her daughter fears policemen because she associates them with teargas and violence. I believe it is wrong to use teargas indiscriminately to break demonstrations. We do not know the long-term effect of this chemical.

SIR — I was saddened by Annet Nakyeyune’s story that her daughter fears policemen because she associates them with teargas and violence. I believe it is wrong to use teargas indiscriminately to break demonstrations. We do not know the long-term effect of this chemical.

The police has become trigger-happy and teargas to break up demonstrations without trying other means first. I challenge the Police and security agents to tell Ugandans that they follow the guidelines below and guarantee the safe use of these chemicals:

Linnate relative toxicity of the chemical used l ability of security force personnel to use the dispersion mechanisms to deliver a measured dose which remains ‘non-lethal’

lrelative toxicity and safe dose of any carrier, solvent or propellant used to deliver the chemical to target subject(s)
l safety from blast damage or fire hazard and

lprofessionalism and training of any operatives to ensure that such devices are used within the context of their training, codes of conduct and in accordance with manufactures’ instructions.
As with other chemicals which humans may be exposed to, there can be no guarantee that there is absolute safety in the use of any given chemical.

Politician and scientist alike must accept the inescapable conclusion that any substance capable of producing an intolerable irritation at low concentration must also produce a concomitantly high toxicity. Police must go slow on teargas!

Kenyi Ebele Mapke
Chicago, USA

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});