DEVICES AUTHORIZED FOR USE 13 Figure 2.6. Multi-barrel launching device. Sources: Le Service des Informations Tactiques et Techniques des Armements (SITTA)© Note: More information on SITTA, see <http://www.defense.gouv.fr/ema/sitta/qui-sommesnous/qui-sommes-nous>. blistering, pressure injury to the eyes, bronchoconstriction and death.23 The solvents used to dissolve the chemical irritants can also be harmful. Studies of OC sprays found that some contained toxic solvents. One individual who was exposed to a training spray that contained the substance trichloroethylene (but not OC) went on to develop corneal erosions, with alteration of vision that lasted two days, while use of a Russian-manufactured pepper spray containing unidentified solvents caused ‘severe chemical burns’ and eye damage lasting more than six weeks.24 Other unintended effects of riot-control munitions, unrelated to the chemical content, include impact injuries causing penetrating trauma, which can be exacerbated by the presence of the chemicals in use, or the striking of sensitive areas of the body causing face, head or neck injuries. In some products, the types of chemical irritants listed in this section are mixed with a dye-marking chemical that leaves a semi-permanent stain on a subject for later identification by law-enforcement officials. A further issue in relation to riot control agents launched from shotguns or grenade launchers is the injuries caused by projectile penetration if such devices are used at short range. Indeed, a number of manufacturers explicitly state on the side of tear-gas canisters that such devices should not be fired directly at individuals and should not be launched from within a certain distance. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, on a visit to Yerevan in 2008 following post-election violence, found that: 23
Haber et al., Human Effectiveness and Risk Characterisation of OC and PAVA Handheld Devices, Air Force Research Laboratory, May 2007, <http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/ a476262.pdf>; Levin, R. et al., Contact Sensitization to CS, A Riot Control Agent, Edgewood Arsenal, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, Nov. 1973; and Salem, H. et al., ‘Riot control agents’, M. Lenhart (ed.), Textbooks of Military Medicine: Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare (2008).
24 Holopainen, M et al., Toxic Carriers in Pepper Sprays may Cause Corneal Erosion, in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 186 (2003) 155–162. Concerns have also been expressed about the carcinogenic potential of the solvent MIBK, used to deliver CS, see e.g. Rappert, B, Health and Safety in Policing: Lessons from the Regulation of CS Sprays in the UK, Social Science & Medicine, 56 (2003) 1273.