Recipes for Disaster: an anarchist cookbook

Don't shave for about a day in advance. Shaving opens your pores and makes chemical weapons more effective; on the other hand, hair absorbs chemical weapons too? it's a fine line to walk. Take out any piercings you can, and put band-aids over the others so they don't get hit or pulled out. Don't wear tampons?they absorb chemical weapons, and if you go to jail and they're left in, you could get toxic shock. Do not wear contact lenses. Chemical weapons get trapped under them and could even melt them onto your eyes.

If you wear a gas mask, choose one that won't obscure your vision too much, with shatterproof lenses and replaceable non-asbestos filters. Alternatively, you can breathe through a bandanna soaked in apple cider vinegar or lime juice?^transport the bandanna to the action in a sealed bag, and carry a lime or two vrith you to keep it fresh?and wear swimming goggles to protect your eyes. These can be obtained in prescription form for those who wear eyeglasses; when not wearing them over your eyes, keep them inside out on your forehead so they won't fog up. You can add a particle mask underneath the bandanna for extra protection. All fancy gear vwU make you a police target, so try to keep it concealed.

During chemical weapons attacks, you can blow your nose, rinse out your mouth, cough Popular Chemical Weapons and spit, but don't swallow or rub your eyes. If you are wearing contacts, try to remove and their Effects the lenses, or get someone to remove them for you whose fingers are clean and uncon-taminated.

Pepper spray and mace are most often deployed in a foam or liquid spray from small hand-held containers, or from larger devices that resemble fire extinguishers. Police have been known to swab them directly into the eyes of protesters who were locked dowTi and unable to resist, presumably for the sole purpose of demonstrating themselves to be truly despicable. You feel the pain immediately in your eyes or on your skin, wherever the substance contacts you. The pain peaks in fifteen minutes and then starts to fade.

Tear gas is deployed in exploding canisters. It is an invisible substance, but police often mix it with a powder so it appears in an intimidating cloud. If the tear gas appears in such a cloud, you can watch which way it blows in the wind, and try to stay upwind. If you can't see it, you sure will be able to tell when it reaches you. Tear gas canisters are Health Care hot enough to burn you; do not touch them unless you are wearing protective material, 283

Treatment and Decontamination

Health Care 284

and not before they begin emitting gas, as they could explode and injure you. You won't necessarily experience the effects of tear gas immediately; it could hit you up to five seconds after contact. Once you get out of the cloud, you'll begin to feel better immediately, though it takes some time for your eyes to clear and the burning sensation to fade away completely The most common symptoms are tears and a running nose, to such an extent that it can be impossible to see and difficult to breathe.

As with many repressive tactics, the use of tear gas is made most effective by the fear it inspires. The first time tear gas hits you, when you are still unfamiliar with its effects, it may seem more overwhelming than it really is; once you have been breathing it for a couple of days, and you know exactly what to expect from it, you'll find that it is less debilitating than it seemed. In crowds fleeing from chemical weapons attacks, call out, "Walk, don't run!," and assist those in need, so panic does not result in trampling injuries.

If someone has been sprayed in the eyes and mouth, you can flush out her eyes with water. A bottle with a squirt cap is ideal, but a spray bottle will work. Always irrigate from the inside corner of the eye toward the outside, with her head tilted back and slightly toward the side being rinsed. The flush needs to get into her eye to help, so if the sprayed person is comfortable with it, you should try to open her eye for her. She most likely won't be able to open it herself, and opening her eye will cause her a temporary increase in pain, but it does help. This will work to rinse her mouth, too. During cold weather, do your best to keep yourself and the victim dry.

Affected skin can also be cleaned with water. Some trained medics use mineral oil followed immediately by alcohol, but others insist this is too dangerous a treatment. To do this, thoroughly wet a pad or similar material with mineral oil or, in a pinch, vegetable oil. Carefully avoiding the eyes, rub the exposed skin with mineral oil. Quickly wet another pad with rubbing alcohol, and vigorously rub off the mineral oil. This procedure