Hello Chemists. I was wondering what the half-lives are for certain tear gas molecules used in tear gas used by the police. My house was tear gas due to an incident with a neighbor 5 days ago and now it still lingers.

They said that they used CN, OC and CS gas.

CN = (Orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile) OC = (Oleoresin Capsicum) CN = (Chloroacetophenone)

Thanks a lot for your help. Also, if you could note special properties of these molecules, about toxicity, etc, please let me know too :-)

Thank you!

  • @themoonisacheese
    3•11 months ago

    generally tear gas dissolves in water to create irritants in your eyes. you can speed up the process by atomizing water with a spray bottle or a humidifier. they are also generally acidic, so adding a base to your cleaning agents should help neutralize them. try dissolving baking soda in your atomizer, and wipe surfaces with hot water + baking soda / bleach.

    soap should also work well with these specific molecules, especially OC which is oil-based.

    in my experience tear gas odor goes away after a week indoors ( with windows open during the day as normal person would do), but it tends to cling to surfaces. it might be worth wiping your walls, ceiling, and above cabinets and such.