Aerosol grenades are devices formulated to release their contents in a vapor
cloud. Often referred to as Area Treatment Weapons, they are used to fill a
space with irritants or inflammatory agents to force people to leave the
area.
Aerosol Grenades were specifically designed to be used against
barricaded subjects in indoor situations where traditional tear gas
grenades cannot be used because of their high potential for fires and
contamination.
An aerosol grenade requires no fuse or explosive charge to
disseminate the irritant. Since aerosol valves are normally designed to
work only in an upright position it was necessary to develop a valve
that would work horizontally. Other modifications to the valve were made
internally to speed evacuation of the can to under thirty seconds
eliminating potential throwback. Unlike FREEZE
formula which utilizes heavy solvents to deliver the irritant in a
coherent liquid stream directly to the face of the subject, aerosol
grenades dispense an irritant cloud in a volatile solvent.
The grenades are available in two brands,
CLEAROUT and
PUNCH II.
Volatility is the rate at which a chemical evaporates and should
not be confused with flammability.
CLEAROUT
formula utilizes highly volatile non-flammable solvents. The irritant is
dispensed and the volatile solvent carrier evaporates and spreads the
irritant quickly and effectively.
CLEAROUT
grenades weigh nine ounces with a concentration of one percent
orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile (CS) and one percent of two million SHU
Oleoresin Capsicum (OC).
This is generally referred to as enhanced
CS
since the addition of
OC,
a red pepper derivative, causes sneezing and coughing, forcing
greater inhalation of the incapacitating
CS.
At the one percent level, one
CLEAROUT
grenade delivers enough
CS to reach incapacitating level established by
military tests to an area of 23,000 cubic feet (1,700 cubic meters) with
an equal amount of OC. Recent tests of
OC alone have established its
effectiveness though no incapacitating concentration has been
determined.
The PUNCH II
M5G, M3G, M5G2K3 and M3G2K3 grenades use five percent
OC
as the active agents. These products are available to agencies
wishing to use tactical devices that contain
OC alone.
The Punch II M5G and
M3G use the proven Isopropyl Alcohol carrier.
PUNCH II M5G2K3 and PUNCH II M3G2K3
contain the non-flammable volatile solvent and propellants used in
CLEAROUT.
CLEAROUT
contains six ounces of formula and
CLEAROUT
RS contains two ounces of formula. PUNCH II M5G is also a six ounce
grenade and PUNCH
II M3G is a two
ounce size.
