How To Clean Tear Gas

Human rights experts say police still have 'not learned' how and when to deploy tear gas. If you're hit, seek high ground, find fresh air, and rinse off.

portland tear gas — Left: Federal police walk through tear gas while dispersing a crowd of about a thousand protesters at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 21, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. Right: Protesters hold their hands in the air during a Black Lives Matter protest in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center on July 20, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.

Tear gas was invented a century ago, and has long been used as a weapon to control crowds.
When tear gas gets into people's eyes, it can cause temporary blindness. Exposed skin often turns red and feels like its burning.
Here's a step by step guide for what to do if you are exposed to tear gas, how to safely remove your clothing, and how to clean up.
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Police officers have used tear gas against demonstrators in cities across the US since May, as people protest the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans at the hands of police.

Monday marked the 54th day of such protests in Portland, Oregon, where tear gas was deployed on protesters by federal police sent in by the Trump administration, in a move widely criticized as an abuse of federal power.

"Law enforcement has not learned, in terms of how to deploy tear gas, and in what situations," Justin Mazzola, Deputy Director of Research at Amnesty International USA, told Insider in June.

Though tear gas was classified as a chemical weapon in 1993, and five years later banned from use in international warfare, officers are still allowed to use it on civilians in the US.

Tear "gas"is actually not a gas at all — it is a solid, white powder that can be aerosolized when mixed with a solvent. When it's mixed with water, sweat, and oils in the skin, it dissolves into a painful, acidic liquid that makes people cough and sneeze. Heat and humidity often make it feel even worse.

The most important thing to do immediately if you're tear-gassed is to move away from the cloud of gas.

"Stop the exposure," Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician and crowd-control weapons expert with Physicians for Human Rights, told Insider.

Here's a step by step guide on what to do next if you're exposed.

Orion Crabb holds his head back while a medic rinses tear gas from his eyes after federal officers dispersed a crowd of about 1,000 protesters from in front of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 21, 2020 in Portland, Oregon.

As quickly as possible, wash any riot control agent from your skin with large amounts of cool water. Take extra care to wash and lather your hands well with soap before you touch your face, so you won't hurt yourself again.

"Both tear gas and pepper spray are relatively safe, but they're just incredibly irritating when there are mucosal surfaces [inside the nose, mouth, and eyes] exposed to them," Dr. Dean Winslow, an infectious disease physician at Stanford Health Care, told Insider.

"Even on the skin, it can cause local irritation."

Take off clothing that may have the chemicals on it as soon as possible, and leave other soiled items like shoes outside to air out.

It's a good idea to wash exposed clothes separately from your other laundry.

"The stuff can linger and last. It's not a gas that just vaporizes, it's actually a powder," Haar said. "So it can get stuck in the cloth, it can get stuck on your shoes, in your lungs. So it's best to get out of it, and then get cleaned up."

More: Protest Tear Gas Black Lives Matter First Aid