Original contributionPrevention of CS “tear gas” eye and skin effects and active decontamination with Diphoterine: Preliminary studies in 5 French Gendarmes
Introduction
Diphoterine® is an active eye and skin decontamination solution that has been tested and safely used for eye and skin splashes with a wide variety of irritant and corrosive chemical compounds, including acids, bases, oxidizing agents, reducing agents, alklyating agents, and solvents (1). It is a polyvalent, amphoteric, hypertonic, chelating compound with six active binding sites for the above types of chemicals. Diphoterine is essentially non-toxic (rat LD50s > 2000 mg/kg by the oral and dermal routes). It was not irritating to the eyes of normal human volunteers and rabbits, was not irritating to the skin in rats, and was only a mild skin irritant in a few animals when applied to abraded rabbit skin (1). Its decontamination residues after in vitro reaction with strong acid or base were also not irritating to rabbit eyes (1).
French Gendarmes are required to undergo periodic training involving exposure to ortho-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile (CS) tear gas in an exposure chamber (enclosed space). Because of the known safety of Diphoterine and its reported use in a wide variety of chemical eye and skin splashes, preliminary human volunteer studies of its potential efficacy in ameliorating or preventing the ocular and dermal effects of CS were performed in five French Gendarmes undergoing required periodic CS exposure training.
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Materials and methods
Diphoterine, provided by Laboratoire Prevor, Valmondois, France, was tested for its efficacy in decontaminating or preventing the lacrimating and facial skin irritant effects of CS. Five volunteer Gendarmes were exposed to CS during a required periodic training exercise in the same setting and with the same CS exposure conditions as are normally encountered during such training where no prophylactic or decontamination measures are usually made available. The five volunteer Gendarmes were
Experiment 1
When two volunteer Gendarmes entered the CS exposure chamber, the immediate effects were coughing and a suffocating sensation. The CS exposure also resulted in significant excessive lacrimation, conjunctival irritation, reflex palpebral occlusion, and intense photophobia. After developing these signs and symptoms, the two Gendarmes immediately exited the chamber and were decontaminated by an unexposed person with 250 mL of Diphoterine from a low-pressure spray container. There was no increase
Discussion
CS “tear gas” (ortho-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile) is a lacrimating and irritant riot control agent that has been used for many years and is generally considered to be relatively harmless when utilized for normal law enforcement activities (3, 4, 5). It is not actually a gas, but is rather an aerosol suspension of solid particles. Common, usually short-duration and self-limited effects are dermal irritation, superficial skin burns, eye (conjunctival) irritation, excessive lacrimation, and
Acknowledgments
Funding for translation from the French, congress presentation, and editing for publication in English was provided by Laboratoire Prevor, Valmondois, France.
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