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Counterfeit Pepper Spray: A Case Report

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Abstract  

Pepper spray is one of the less lethal instruments used by law enforcement agencies around the world. Basically, pepper spray is composed of the active ingredient, a carrier solvent and a propellant. The purpose of pepper spray, a non-lethal weapon, is to briefly incapacitate and restrain an individual, without causing permanent damage. Therefore, the presence of hazardous substances is undesirable. Pepper sprays confiscated by the Brazilian Federal Police were analyzed to identify their ingredients. Chemical analyses were performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The most surprising outcome was the identification of methanol (highly toxic and flammable) as a carrier solvent in the analyzed products, a great concern. Flammable gases (used as propellants) and discrepancies related to active ingredients on product labels were also noted. Therefore, this investigation revealed the serious risk of low quality pepper spray causing damage to both users and other people subjected to its effects.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out at the National Institute of Criminalistics – Federal Police of Brazil. The authors thank the Brazilian research financing institution CAPES for scholarship supporting of this work.

Funding

Partial financial support was received from Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) through a scholarship for one of the authors (Amanda das Graças Barbosa).

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Lúcio Paulo Lima Logrado. The first draft of the manuscript was written by all authors Lúcio Paulo Lima Logrado, Alberthmeiry Teixeira de Figueiredo and Amanda das Graças Barbosa. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. All authors prepared Figs. 16.

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Correspondence to Lúcio Paulo Lima Logrado.

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Logrado, L.P.L., de Figueiredo, A.T. & das Graças Barbosa, A. Counterfeit Pepper Spray: A Case Report. Hum Factors Mech Eng Def Saf 6, 16 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41314-022-00055-y

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