... research increasingly shows they can seriously injure and disable people — and sometimes even kill.
A 2017 analysis# published in the British Medical Journal of several decades of the use of rubber bullets, beanbag rounds and other projectiles during arrests and protests found that 15 percent of people who were injured were left with permanent disabilities and 3 percent of those who were injured died. Of those who survived, 71 percent had severe injuries, with their extremities most frequently impacted.
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The main effect of clouds of tear gas, mace or pepper spray — chemicals known as lacrimating agents that were also used to clear the park in Washington — is to cause watering of the eyes and irritate sensitive tissues in the nose, mouth and lungs. But if deployed in an enclosed space, tear gas and pepper spray have a more severe impact. Injuries can include chemical burns, blurred vision, corneal erosions, ulcers, nerve damage, abnormal growth of tissue on the eyes (which may need to be removed surgically) and permanent vision loss.
The chemical frequently used in pepper spray — oleoresin capsicum (OC) — is a natural oily resin found in hot peppers, including cayenne and other chili peppers. Because OC is often used in the foods we eat, it is considered by many to have minimal toxicity when used as a lacrimating agent.
That’s simply not accurate, said Dr. Mary K. Daly, chief of ophthalmology at the V.A. Boston Healthcare System. “There have been a number of reports of serious eye complications from OC,” Dr. Daly said. “It can cause permanent vision loss and chronic symptoms. The risks are not only to the eyes. There has also been a death reported in the literature, which was attributed to OC exposure in a person with asthma.”
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Doctors worry that lacrimating agents and gases may also increase the risk of spreading the coronavirus as protests occur during the pandemic. Yet the police in Seattle have reportedly sprayed a child in the face and New York City officers have yanked a young man’s protective face mask and pepper-sprayed him while he held his arms in the air.
A 2011## study of the use of tear gas in regular military trainings noted that exposure to the chemical could have long-term effects and recommended reducing personnel exposure to tear gas. Several health and human rights experts say the substance should also be removed from domestic law enforcement use.
