【不願東方之珠 成為毒瀧惡霧之地】
─ 愛護環境，我反對香港警方濫用催淚彈
[發起團體]
台灣蠻野心足生態協會
[發起說明]
自從2019年六月至今，香港警方已在鎮壓行動中使用了九千枚以上的催淚彈（CS Gas[1]）。催淚彈早在1925年便在日內瓦公約（Geneva Protocol）中被歸類為化學武器而不得於所有戰爭中使用，然而藉由每一天的報導，我們看到香港警方已經不只將催淚彈當做「驅離群眾」的手段，其濫用更波及商場、幼稚園、無辜的住宅、封閉的地鐵內，以及用來「圍攻」抗爭者所在的校園。
而更令人擔心的是屬於CS Gas此一類的催淚彈，在極高溫燃燒的條件下，會產生世紀之毒—「戴奧辛[2]」。身為「持久性有機汙染物」的一員，戴奧辛在土壤中的半衰期估計為25至100年。近日已有傳媒工作者身上長出氯痤瘡[3]，而這正是戴奧辛中毒的標準症狀之一；而就連香港警方也承認發射出的催淚彈會產生戴奧辛[4]，但即便如此，他們卻沒有做任何的行動檢討與改善。
我們在此鄭重要求「香港環境局與食衛局」立即檢驗香港各地的「戴奧辛汙染情形」，並將檢驗資料公開以免人民（尤其是孕婦與兒童）受「毒物」之害；同時香港警方應立即停止使用催淚彈，香港政府更應針對這數月中警方濫用催淚彈之行為即刻啟動獨立調查。
身為同一世界的公民，我們不願看到香港成為嚴重汙染的褐地，更不願看到因為警方濫權，而昔稱「東方之珠」的香港成為寸草不生、毒瀧惡霧之地。
(說明 / 台灣蠻野心足生態協會研究專員 孫瑋孜 博士)
[1] CS Gas是眾多催淚彈中的一類，其主要成分為鄰-氯代苯亞甲基丙二腈（2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile），其分子結構含有苯環與氯，在高溫燃燒下極容易形成戴奧辛
[2] 戴奧辛（香港稱為「二噁英」）泛指一群結構相類似的化合物，屬於持久性有機汙染物，在人體中可存在三十多年之久；其對健康的危害包括免疫系統與生殖系統失調、發育障礙、干擾內分泌系統以及導致癌症，故有「世紀之毒」之稱。同時戴奧辛在土壤中的半衰期估計為25至100年之久。
[3] 來源：
http://bit.ly/35kDeJn [4] 來源：
http://bit.ly/2CYXtQu----------------
[English Ver.]
【For the Environment and Future Generations, We Urge Hong Kong Police Force to Stop the Abusively Use of Tear Gas】 -- --The Pearl of the Orient, Hong Kong, shall not become a brownfield where nothing grows
Since June 2019, the HKPF has used at least more than 9 thousand rounds of tear gas. The “CS” tear gas [1] has been regarded as “chemical weapon” and not allowed to be used in warfare, according to the 1925 “Geneva Protocol”. However we have seen in daily media that the CS tear gas was no longer just used as a means to expel grouped protesters—it was used extensively and illegally by the HKPF in closed shopping malls, kindergartens, innocent households, barricaded subway trains, and even university campuses.
The more disturbing fact is that, CS gas with the active ingredient “2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile”, has the ability to react with oxygen to form dioxins [2] in high temperature. As one of the persistent organic pollutants, dioxins’ half-life in soil is estimated to be 25-100 years. We saw reports of media workers having chloracnes [3]—a typical syndrome of dioxins poisoning. Even the HKPF admitted that used tear gas would release dioxins [4]. However the HKPF continues to use tear gas in an inacceptable and illegal way.
We can no longer be silent about this outrageous act. We hereby rigidly demand that, HK ENVIRONMENTAL BUREAU & FOOD AND HEALTH BUREAU SHOULD INVESTIGATE THE DIOXINS POLLUTION STATUS IN HONG KONG WITH TRANSPARENT REPORTS SO HK PEOPLE (ESPECIALLY CHILDREN AND PREGNANT WEMEN) CAN AVOID THE HIGHLY TOXIC SUBSTANCES, and NO MORE TEAR GAS WILL BE USED BY HKPF, POLICES ABUSELY USING TEAR GAS SHOULD BE SUBJECTED TO INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION IMMEDIATELY.
As members of world citizens, we are reluctant to see Hong Kong as a heavily polluted brownfield land, and we shed tears while watching the once-beautiful “Pearl of the Orient” gradually become a place in turmoil where nothing grows.
(Author: Xavier Sun
Researcher at “Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association, Taiwan”
＆
Member of GAIA’s Global Advisory Hub)
[1] “CS gas” belongs to one category of the tear gases. The active ingredient “2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile” has a benzene ring and a bonded chloride, and these characteristics make it transform to dioxins easily upon high temperature and the presence of oxygen.
[2] “Dioxins” refer to a group of molecularly-similar chemicals. They are persistent organic pollutants and cause adverse health effects on human immune/ reproductive system, disrupt developmental processes, serve as endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. They can exist in human body for more than 30 years, and the half-life of dioxins in soil was estimated to be 25 to 100 years.
[3]
http://bit.ly/35kDeJn[4]
http://bit.ly/2CYXtQu