December 7, 1999
Neurotoxic agents used in Seattle gas attacks?
In addition to eye witness accounts that some Seattle
"police" were armed with M-16s, some doctors are concerned
that tear gas and pepper spray were not the only chemical
agents used against demonstrators.
Perhaps the Special Forces "advisors" CNN reported being
present in Seattle a more hands on approach than we
know.
Neurotoxic Symptoms In Chemical Warfare Casualties At
Seattle WTO Meeting by kirk james murphy, MD
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 10:04am Tue Dec 7 '99
Direct Action Network Medical Collective members
provided first aid and other care for thousands of
casualties of chemical warfare during the Seattle WTO
protests. Collective members identified a subset of
casualties with symptoms consistent with exposure to
neurotoxins which disrupt acetylcholine irritant
agents do not explain the symptoms.
The Direct Action Network Medical
Collective was organized to provide first aid and
other health services to activists and others
(onlookers, media, residents, and anyone else
requesting assistance) in Seattle for the WTO meeting
last week. The Collective members provided care for
literally hundreds of chemical warfare casualties on
both November 30 and December 1; hundreds more have
requested information and treatment in subsequent
days. As one may imagine, Collective members have
acquired extensive expertise in the recognition and
treatment of symptoms arising from exposure to pepper
spray (OC) and "tear gases" (CS and CN).
Individuals exposed to chemical weapons in
the late afternoon and evening of December
1st at two locations downtown blocks adjacent to Pike
Place Market and the Seattle neighborhood of Capitol
Hill evinced and reported a pattern of symptoms
which is inconsistent with the pattern of symptoms
which may be ascribed to irritating agents. This
"atypical" pattern of symptoms includes the rapid
onset of:
mydriasis (pupillary dilation) with
resultant impairment of visual acuity;
tachycardia (rapid heart rate) with some
palpitations;
new-onset hypertension (high blood
pressure) in one individual;
nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (persisting for
days after exposure);
abrupt or immediate onset of menstruation
(asynchronous with usual menstrual
cycle);
muscular fasciculation (twitches);
muscular dyscoordination;
lethargy, confusion, disorientation,
diminished concentration, nocturnal
hallucinations.
Moreover, some casualties reported an abrupt
experience of loss of muscular tone and strength
that sometimes (but not always) immediately preceded a
loss of consciousness; one observer of these
affected individuals reported uncontrolled, spasmodic
movements in those affected.
Some individuals exposed in the Pike Place Market
area reported that the aforementioned symptoms came
immediately after exposure to a non-irritating agent
which was did not cause pain, lacrimation, or burning
on mucous membranes.
At least one individual complaining of
fasciculations and cognitive impairment days after
exposure reported resolution of both symptoms for a
duration of approximately five to six hours within
twenty to thirty minutes after treatment with 10 mg of
the specific antidote dicyclomine (Bentyl) - an
anticholinergic medication which crosses the
blood-brain barrier and hence can relieve central
nervous symptoms of excessive cholinergic activity as
well as relieving peripheral symptoms of the same
etiology.
The pattern of symptoms is not consistent
with known mechanisms of action of the irritant
chemical weapons OC, CS, or CN. The pattern, however,
is consistent with disruption of neurotransmitter
activity. Lamentably, the single most compelling
explanation for the observed findings is the
(deliberate or accidental) inclusion of
"incapacitating agents" which disrupt neuronal
function in the chemical munitions discharged by law
enforcement agencies in Seattle during the WTO
protest.
While direct cholinergic effects or indirect
(inhibition of acetylcholinesterase) effects arising
from synergistic combinations (of OC, CS, and CN)
cannot be ruled out at this time, the experience and
observations Medical Collective members, together
with the aforementioned information, appears to most
robustly support the hypothesis that the casualties
described above resulted from exposure to
cholinesterase inhibitors used as chemical
weapons in crowd control.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on December 4
that the Seattle Police Department had to replenish
its chemical weapons stocks by going to outside
sources. Various individuals have reported being told
by individual law enforcement officers that chemical
weapons in addition to OC, CS, and CN were deployed
by various entities; these anecdotal accounts are not
yet confirmed.
Any information regarding the use of chemical
munitions in addition to OC, CS or CN, as well as
information regarding the discharge of chemical
weapons by agencies other than the Seattle Police
Department would be helpful.
Available Internet information from
presumably authoritative (eg, DOD) sources describes
"nerve gases" as lethal agents. While the casualties
described above - fortunately - have not included
fatalities, the apparent pattern of excessive
cholinergic activity and the fact that
"incapacitating agents" is the term of art for a
subset of chemical weapons used in crowd control
suggests that the term "nerve gas" may be a
suboptimal descriptive term. "Incapacitating agents"
or "neurotoxic agents" may be more precise ways of
describing chemical munitions with the effects
described above.
If you were exposed to chemical weapons during the
WTO protests and have the pattern of "atypical"
symptoms discussed below, please make a written,
signed, and dated account of your exposure, including
details such as the (approximate) location in which
you were exposed and the date and part of the day
(morning, midday, afternoon, evening) of your
exposure, as well as the nature of your symptoms.
Please send such accounts to the email above and to
the ACLU unit investigating law enforcement actions
in Seattle during the WTO protests.
Collection of discharged chemical weapons munitions
is proceeding apace at this time. Collection of serum
samples from affected individuals will probably be
organized over the next 48 hours. Assay of garments
(and other materials) exposed to the chemical
warfare agents on individuals demonstrating the
aforementioned pattern of symptoms is also
contemplated. If you have canisters or other chemical
munitions containers discharged during the WTO
protest, please contact the above email address for
information about how to forward these containers for
chemical analysis
[NOTE: Canisters of "CS" or "CN" (tear gas) or "OC"
(Oleoresin Capsaiscum) are not needed - we know they
were used. The containers to be sent for chemical
analysis would only be those without the above
markings or those with markings consistent with the
use of other agents.]
Your comments are invited and desired. Obviously,
the escalation of chemical weapons used in "crowd
control" to include even non-lethal neurotoxins is an
exceedingly grave prospect: the qualitative leap from
irritant agents (OC, CS, CN) to agents which disrupt
neuronal function is truly an appalling prospect.
This communication is intended to ensure the fullest
possible discussion and consideration of the events
and mechanisms described above.
