Israel Wages Chemical Warfare With American Tear Gas

URL:		http://web.archive.org/web/20071005190417/http://covertaction.org//content/view/161/75/
TITLE:		Israel Wages Chemical Warfare With American Tear Gas
AUTHOR:		Louis Wolf (John Krofcheck, a Pittsburgh‑based researcher, contributed to this article)
SOURCE:		Covert Action Information Bulletin, no. 30
DATE:		Summer 1988
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In the first five months of the Intifada, at least 50 Palestinians died from exposure to U.S.‑made tear gas, and more than 150 pregnant women suffered miscarriages or fetal deaths.[1] Thus it was a major victory when, on May 6, the company producing the gas -- the California‑based TransTechnology Corporation through its Federal Laboratories, Inc. subsidiary in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania  - decided to suspend its brisk sales to Israel.

The decision did not come easily. Internal company documents underscore the continuing urgency Israel attached to its need for the tear gas. On December 16, Israel placed a priority order, assigned Number 161414 by Federal, for Model 519 CS Rubber‑Ball grenades, a 9.8‑pound spherical rubber device that when thrown at its target spews out peppery CS smoke fumes as it bounces and rolls along the ground. The document entry reads: "Rush for Israel." Federal kept seven people working full‑time on the order. By January 10, 1988, 35,000 grenades were completed, with most of them already shipped to Israel before Christmas.

Illustrative of the ubiquitous supply from Federal's Saltsburg plant to the Israeli military was that, on January 13, 1988, while on a congressional fact‑finding visit to Israel, Rep. Mervyn Dymally (Dem.‑Cal.) was given a spent Federal canister used that week and returned with it to the U.S. On its shiny metal outer casing were the words: "Made in USA 123456789 Mfg 1988." Other U.S. delegations visiting the West Bank and Gaza since then also returned with the U.S.-made gas canisters.

A special viciousness has marked the behavior of Israeli forces deployed against the Palestinians. They have used expressly lethal weapons like Galil assault rifles and Uzi sub‑machineguns and long fiberglass batons have been used repeatedly as "bonebreakers" in beatings (modified from the wooden batons which gave Israeli soldiers splinters). Federal tear gas grenades and canisters have been shot or thrown at crowds or individuals in streets and alleyways, into elementary school playgrounds, and repeatedly inside of houses, hospitals, schools, stores, and mosques, as well as dropped from helicopters into teeming refugee camps. It must be remembered that based on repeated public pronouncements by Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and West Bank military commander Maj. Gen. Amram Mitzna, individual soldiers are following their orders in these actions.[2]

The effects of Federal's patented pyrotechnics as they are employed by Israeli troops are profound and disturbing. A highly concentrated lachrymatory (tear‑producing) agent dispensed in a finely pulverized, dust‑like substance, the CS gas[3] initially attacks the eyeball and the lachrymal gland which produces tears and is the passage from the eye to the nose. An intense burning sensation renders it exceedingly difficult to open the eyes, compounding the pain and blinding the victim to what is happening.[4]

Children can die from one‑fourth the toxic level fatal to adults, death following pneumonia and loss of consciousness. The tear gas has also killed elderly persons suffering from asthma or heart problems.[5]

In three known cases, soldiers have fired the gas directly at people at close range, killing two and blinding one. One, a four year‑old boy, was burned to death when a tear gas canister fired directly into his home ignited a kerosene stove. Dr. John Hiddlestone, a senior United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) official stated that 795 Palestinians had been treated for tear gas‑related injuries by UNRWA hospitals and clinics since December, in addition to some 2,400 other injuries.[6]

In addition to its immediate effects, the food chain is contaminated weeks after the initial exposure. CS gas is known to break down into cyanide, particularly as food is cooked. Rice, flour, sugar, and other staples in every place where tear gas has been used are all repositories of gas residues which do not disappear for long periods.

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Tear Gas is Lethal
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At the end of Federal's 28‑page manual, "Riot Control," which is distributed to each customer, there is a very revealing mathematical discussion. Titled "Formula For Determining Lethal Dosage of CN and CS in Confined Areas," the calculation reveals the "Median Lethal Dosage" of Federal products. In a room measuring 10' x 10' x 10' using a container with 25 grams of CS, the company acknowledges that at least one‑half of the people in the room would die in 28.4 minutes. At least two of the five Federal products known to be in use by the Israelis ‑ the 560 CS Long Range Projectile and the 515 CS "Triple‑Chaser" Grenade - contain approximately 75 grams of CS.

Federal Laboratories and TransTechnology are quick to point out that their clients know full well about the dangers inherent in the product. Printed in English on each Federal cartridge or projectile in large block letters is the following:

For use by trained personnel only. Warning: May start fires. Do not fire directly at persons as death or injury may result. For outdoor use only.

When a company official was reminded that many of its overseas clients do not speak or understand English, he said, "That's not our concern."[7] A senior State Department official who insisted on anonymity was unimpressed. "If they [Federal] were altruistic, they would print [the instructions] in English and the language of the country," he observed.[8]

On April 4, 1988, after several weeks of being confronted by the media and Arab‑American organizations with detailed eyewitness accounts of how Israeli forces were using the gas, its effects on the Palestinian population and, according to a spokeswoman, "after a lot of pretty tough deliberations" among company executives, TransTechnology president Dan McBride wrote to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. He referred to the many reports and inquiries, and asked for an explanation. However, he also noted that, "Our company values our role in supplying tear gas products to your country.... We look forward to continuing our longstanding business relationship with your military and police agencies." To that end, he offered "additional training information or assistance in training to you if you feel that this would be of benefit to your personnel." No explanation was forthcoming, and, on May 6, TransTechnology announced that its sales of CS tear gas to Israel had been "concluded."

This decision was not made simply because of media reports, pressures from Arab‑American organizations, or an impressive public demonstration outside the Federal Laboratories factory April 16. In fact, Federal had several tear gas contracts with Israel, each of them renewable every month or so as supplies of the gas needed replenishing. By April, the last contract had been fulfilled, so it was an opportune time to make the suspension announcement.

TransTechnology chairman Arch Scurlock stressed that sales had been "concluded" rather than "terminated," leaving an option to resume sales in the immediate future if Israel were to agree to use the tear gas "properly."[9]

"We are in the riot control industry," a Federal executive told CAIB.[10] "The undisputed leading manufacturer and developer of chemical riot control weapons" is how the company describes itself in its manual. Founded in 1923, today with only two domestic and several overseas competitors, Federal has good reason to be feeling its oats about the company's place in supplying a thirsty domestic and global marketplace; the company sells tear gas to some 80 countries. Ironically, one of Federal's overseas competitors, an Israeli company called Israel Product Research Company, Ltd., which manufactures CS gas both for domestic use and for export, including to South Africa, vies with Federal for Third World business.

In the U.S., Federal sells a wide range of tear gas products to local police departments primarily for use by the assorted "SWAT" teams that have blossomed in the last two decades, to state police in many states, to the military for "riot" Âcontingencies, and to the Bureau of Prisons for distribution to hundreds of penitentiaries and jails across the nation. Since the 1930s, the company has led efforts to design and install built‑in tear gas systems for prison dining rooms and other large enclosed areas where inmates gather. They also were the creators of the "tear gas billy club," which was discontinued in the 1960s due to complaints about the club's lethal capacity.

Data in Federal's open literature and internal documents show that the company manufactures at least 48 varieties of tear gas, and related law‑enforcement products such as amplifiers, helmets, gas masks, handcuffs, and riot batons.

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Tear Gas is Good Business
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The lion's share of Federal's trade is overseas, with each sale licensed by the State Department and required by Congress to comply with a regulation[11] which states: "An security assistance [including tear gas and other licensed commercial munitions exports] must promote and advance human rights and avoid identification of the United States ... with governments which deny to their people internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms in violation of international law."

Since December, Federal has delivered to Israel 60,000 CS 560 long range tear gas projectiles, 60,000 CS 400 tear gas grenades ("reworked" from the Model 519), and 800 203A 37mm gas guns used to shoot the projectiles some 150 yards. These shipments, sent more or less weekly since December, were confirmed to CAIB by the Pentagon. Their records give the estimated total price tag of these purchases as $1,693,800.

Significantly noteworthy is the way Israel pays for the tear gas. Israel and Egypt enjoy an unusual dispensation not found in any other U.S. military aid program. They are granted "credits" given in the form of loans under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, administered by the Defense Security Assistance Agency. Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Jim Jannette put it this way to CAIB: "They [the Israelis] are given a bucket of money to spend and they can spend it however they see fit." In the case of Israel's tear gas purchases, the "credits" are generously being rolled over and "forgiven," which means free tear gas.

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Federal's Parent
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Just as Federal Laboratories is dependent upon the continuance of political unrest and repression both at home and abroad to sustain and increase its tear gas sales, Federal's parent, TransTechnology, is largely dependent on the American war machine and the military thrust of the space program for its rate of growth. U.S. government business has produced a very significant portion of the company's total revenues.[12] With operating revenues in 1987 of $212.3 million, the company's net profits were up 53% from 1986.

TransTechnology has three main production divisions. Its Aerospace‑Defense sector is the busiest and most lucrative, with over one‑half the company's more than 2,600 employees and production facilities in 11 states. Among the many military contracts it has won from the government are components for the following:

MX Peacekeeper missile, Navy Tomahawk Cruise missile, Navy Harpoon Cruise missile, Navy Phoenix missile, Navy SeaLance missile, Navy A‑6 Intruder aircraft, Navy F‑14 Tomcat fighter plane, Navy Phalanx missile, Pershing 11 missile, Army Multiple‑Launch rocket system, Patriot air‑defense system, pyrotechnics for the Space Shuttle, and pyrotechnics for military and commercial satellites.

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Environmental Dangers
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Federal's business grew steadily, from its founding in 1923, with a flurry of activity during World War II. In 1964, when the White House and Pentagon decided to use tear gas in Vietnam, Federal's production line buzzed once more. By mid‑1965, they were making 3,000 pounds of CS a day.

When questions about the possible dangers of the gas were raised, in March 1965, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara insisted that the effects of CS only last about "five to ten minutes."[[13] Yet as early as December 1964, farmers living near the Federal factory had been complaining about various ill effects due to tear gas fumes which occasionally wafted across the area. In fact, CS production was discontinued from April to December 1965.

Neighbors experienced severe burning of the eyes, nose, and throat, and skin lesions. Some collapsed while at work. Livestock became irritated, foaming at the mouth, and not eating properly. It was discovered that Federal was burning CS sweepings and other waste material twice a week, and the residue was spread over the neighborhood. Township and county authorities called on Federal to remedy the problem and were rebuffed. Letters to the state environmental unit and the Governor's office received courteous but ineffective replies. Lawsuits were threatened if the company could not stop its unmistakable contamination of the area.

Finally, in June 1968, one farmer, sick from the fumes and increasingly unable to work, told a state agricultural officer that if the fumes did not stop blowing over his farm, he was prepared to blow up Federal's buildings one by one. His desperation may have caught Federal's attention; shortly thereafter, they installed new chimney piping and the outdoor gas fumes suddenly ended.

In fact, the spectre of long‑term effects of CS on the body and on future generations, as well as on the environment, is just beginning to emerge in the scientific literature. CS and 17 other similar chemicals were recently tested for mutagenic content. It (and 13 other substances) showed "significant" mutagenic response.[14] Moreover, the National Toxicology Program, part of the National Institutes of Health, now has a contract with Battelle Laboratories in North Carolina to test CS gas for carcinogenic potential.

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Conclusion
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The U.S. and international media have been extraordinarily lax in their coverage of the casualties of the Intifada, particularly in their failure to report seriously on the deaths caused by tear gas.[15]

As clouds of Federal Laboratories' tear gas filled the air in the West Bank and Gaza, a worried Austrian Foreign Ministry official sent an urgent message to the Embassy of Austria in Washington. With an embattled ex‑Nazi, Kurt Waldheim, as President, Vienna was worried about "embarrassment" arising from rumors that neutral Austria was selling tear gas to Israel. A sigh of relief went out when it was learned that the manufacturer was in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, not Salzburg, Austria. Austria was not implicated in this war crime.

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Endnotes:
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1. Database Project on Palestinian Human Rights, "Intifada Martyrs: The First Five Months" (Chicago: DPPHR, May 27,1988). The figures on fetal deaths are approximate; According to the DPPHR (May 31, 1988), physicians had reported 80 fetal deaths in Gaza alone as of the end of February.

2. "We are very proud of how we behave," Maj. Gen. Mitzna told Ted Koppel on Nightline, April 28,1988.

3. The chemical name for CS is orthochlorobenzylidene malononitrile, and the chemical formula is CIC6H4CHC(CN)2.

4. Quickly, the skin, sinuses, nose, and throat feel as if they are on fire, and rapid sneezing and coughing begin. From the respiratory system the gas permeates blood cells, fatty tissues, and mucous membranes. Hyperactive, disoriented behavior is induced. Soft tissues are damaged and bronchial constriction leads to vomiting of blood, while gasping for air. The condition can escalate to violent spasms and convulsions and, in many cases, death.

5. As of May 27, according to data compiled by the Database Project on Palestinian Human Rights, the 50 confirmed tear gas‑related deaths break down as follows: 20 infants one week to one year, 5 between 1 and 21 years, 12 between 22 and 59 years, and 13 from 60 to 90 years. Thirty‑two were males, 18 were females; 24, or nearly half, were living in refugee camps.

6. Official UNRWA press releases, April 14 and 15,1988.

7. Interview at Federal Laboratories with the author, March 11, 1988.

8. Interview with author, March 23, 1988.

9. Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1988. "We want some breathing room," vice president Burl Alison told the AP, not realizing the irony in her words. Associated Press, May 6, 1988.

10. Interview, March 11, 1988.

11. 22 CFR, Chapter 32.

12. Forty‑six percent in 1984; 50% in 1985; 49% in 1986; and 32% in 1987.

13. Congressional testimony, March 23, 1965.

14. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1988), pp. 91‑118.

15. An Israeli occupation official, Dr. Shoshan of the Civil Administration, confirmed that gas had caused 30 abortions in Gaza. Al‑Hamishmar, April 25,1988.