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Pepper spray causes scare in Taipei

Members of an emergency response team from the Environmental Protection Administration collect test samples of an unidentified powder that sickened pedestrians and motorists in Taipei City yesterday. PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES

A bottle of pepper spray was crushed on Taipei City’s Guangzhou Street-Zhonghua Road intersection yesterday morning, causing a day-long scare before the substance was analyzed and identified by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in the evening.

Dozens of scooter riders and pedestrians suffered eye problems and skin rashes and irritation after inhaling the yellow powder, which was blown into the air by the wind, the Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) director of environmental sanitation and toxic substance management department Yuan Shaw-ying (袁紹英) said.

The accident happened at around 11am, Yuan said, adding that half an hour later the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) deployed its environmental toxic disaster emergency response team to clean up the powder and collect samples for laboratory analysis.

As the ITRI is located in Hsinchu, the lab results did not arrive until late in the evening.

Meanwhile, there was some speculation among hospital doctors that the substance was monochloroacetaldehyde — a toxin that can cause eye injury and acute pulmonary edema when ingested above certain levels — after preliminary assessment of those affected.

The incident caused a citywide scare.

Longshan Junior High School, which is located close to where the powder was found, initiated a school-wide emergency action and distributed masks to students.

Some media portrayed the incident as a potential “toxic attack.”

A total of 43 people — the youngest of whom was a two-year-old child — sought medical attention at National Taiwan University Hospital, Chung-shing Hospital and Heping Hospital, Yuan said.

The scare finally ended at 6:30pm, when the EPA received the lab results that revealed the powder to be pure 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS), the main ingredient in pepper spray.

CS was first discovered by two Americans in 1928, and is now widely used in aerosol spray form as a self-defense weapon.

“While CS may cause short-term discomfort such as watering of the eyes, sneezing, coughing and skin irritation, those who inhaled it should recover after a while,” Yuan said.

The substance is not regulated by the EPA, Yuan said, adding that the administration speculated that the can was dropped by a motorcyclist by accident, and then crushed by the vehicle behind, causing the CS powder to mix in the air.

“Most chemicals can be toxic depending on exposure time and amount, however, as the pedestrians were very briefly exposed, and there were less than 10g of powder on the road, most should be fine after some rest,” he said.

At press time, only two of the injured people remained hospitalized, Yuan said, adding that the rest had been discharged.
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