Tear gas contains chemicals that cause birth defects, infertility, brain damamge, and cancer.

Infants and children are particularly sensitive to these chemical hazards.

Here's much more info from our friends at Physicians For Social Responsibility - LA ("Tear Gas Clouds and Chronic Health Problems")

"The actions of the Seattle Police Department and National

Guard during the three days of the WTO Conference in

1999 constituted the single largest deployment of

chemical weapons in the history of North America. The

deployment of these weapons, which were used against

young and old alike, healthy and infirm, en total in the

city of Seattle, are prohibited by the International Treaty

on Chemical Weapons for use in warfare.1 Warfare is a

situation where one is dealing with ostensible enemies,

attacking men readied for combat who are healthy and

expecting to fight. The people exposed to these chemicals

in Seattle were both peaceful demonstrators and

uninvolved residents. They came from all walks of life,

for many different reasons, and were met with official

force that would otherwise be illegal. It is almost more

frightening to think that this act of chemical warfare, as it

is indeed warfare as defined by the Pentagon, came at the

hands of local authorities acting mainly of their own

accord.

"Thousands of innocent people were exposed to potentially

deadly chemicals. This exposure came at a very high

price. This price is not only directly monetary, though the

taxpayers of Seattle paid for the chemicals used against

them, but had indirect costs as well. Thousands of hours

of work were lost by people made sick by gas, hundreds

of insurance claims were made, and lawsuits were filed.

These court battles may be fought well into the future,

with the cost being borne directly by taxpayers. More

importantly, thousands of exposed people will be paying

with their health. Innumerable people were seriously ill in

the weeks following exposure, but the full effect of the

carcinogenic ‘inerts’ may not be felt for many years. We

will know if exposed people have children with birth

defects, develop tumors on their livers and lungs, or suffer

from unexplained emotional problems, exactly what is the

price of this exposure."