Mesloh Shares Expertise on Crowd-Control Munitions

Northern Michigan University Criminal Justice Professor Charlie Mesloh contributed his expertise as a former police officer and researcher on crowd-control munitions to a Jan. 26 Minnesota Star Tribune article titled "Chemical munitions can pose toxic threat." The story addressed concerns about the ingredients in grenades and canisters being deployed in Minneapolis, and their potential health consequences.

"Whether it's smoke, or if it's tear gas-whatever it is-each one of them has different toxic levels. Smoke is at the very bottom of that scale. It would take a remarkable amount for it to even come close to being a problem," Mesloh stated, adding that the health impacts are dependent on density, or whether they are deployed outside or in an enclosed space. "If it's outside, the health risks can be less severe, but still pose a risk for those with asthma or other health conditions."

The military initially used green smoke to signify a safe place to land a helicopter and red smoke for areas that should be avoided, Mesloh said, adding that it is now used in cases of civil unrest as a visual deterrent and warning sign.

"When you start to see smoke grenades, it is very possible that the next grenades are not going to be smoke, and are actually going to be a chemical irritant," he said.

Mesloh previously researched crowd-control munitions for seven years before funding for such studies was rescinded. He told the newspaper reporters that a major risk with grenades or flash-bangs is heat. They are pyrotechnics that burn extremely hot-some up to 1,800 degrees-so people should not touch them in any way.

Munitions are unregulated and underexamined, Mesloh added, and there is no oversight of full understanding of what they actually contain because the ingredients fall under proprietary information and can vary by the private companies that produce them.

Read the full Minnesota Star Tribune story here.