Postcards from Seattle - and Oakland

Victims of chemical warfare in Seattle during the WTO protests can file case reports of their symptoms and exposures by phone or email with Physicians For Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. PSR-LA is also seeking to identify independent experts, resources, and labs for further information on testing and treatment.

Physicians For Social Responsibility - Los Angeles has agreed to collect case reports from victims of chemical warfare in Seattle during the WTO protests and to assist in ensuring that material evidence of the chemical munitions used against the populace receive thorough and accurate chemical analysis. As a member of PSR-LA's Board, I am confident that the organization will treat individual case reports with care, confidentiality, and respect.

PSR-LA can be reached by phone (310)458-2694 or email: psrsm@igc.org.

For those responding by email, the guidelines for information follow the body of this text.

Although PSR-LA cannot, of course, provide treatment or diagnoses, the organization can and will serve as a resource for information regarding the "non-irritant" symptoms described below. As additional information on possible diagnostic tests and/or treatments becomes available, directions to that information will be provided. This information, of course, is intended for the casualties of chemical warfare in Seattle to share with their health care providers, and not for the purpose of self-treatment or self-diagnosis.

Individuals who wish to submit their case reports directly to a physician may submit them to me at via email ; along with PSR-LA, I will hold all information in strictest confidence. If you are willing to allow description of your symptoms to be released in a manner which does not identify you or divulge any personal information about you, please indicate so in your email communication to me or in your phone/email communication to PSR-LA. Due to the fact that my voicemail boxes are unable to accomodate the large volume of calls from casualties of the chemical warfare in Seattle, I must respectfully request that phone reports of casualties be routed through PSR-LA. I will continue to attempt to supply information (although, of course, neither diagnosis or treament is appropriate via phone contact) for affected parties to share with their health care providers.

All the victims of chemical warfare in Seattle continue to have my deepest respect and sympathy. Along with PSR-LA, the Direct Action Medical Collective, and other organizations committed to the safety and well-being of all those who were exposed to the chemical weapons used in Seattle, I will continue to be working in the coming days to find, identify, and disseminate information which may be of service to the victims of the WTO chemical warfare, their families, and their health providers.

(A) CASE REPORT/DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

The relevant issues for PSR data collection from chemical warfare victims are:

(1) Identity, contact information/address of victims of chemical warfare. (For those who wish to remain anonymous, please provide a ten-character alpha-numeric identifier composed of a random assembly and sequence of numerals and capital/lower-case letters. Do not use any existing words to generate your identifier - we will be unable to distinguish duplicates. The identifier system will be a hassle for us - please elect this option only if you feel it is truly neccessary.)

(2) date(s), time(s), location(s) of exposure(s) to chemical weapons;

(3) presence/nature/onset time/duration (or "fade date") of "non-irritant"/"neurotoxic" symptoms (witnessed or experienced);

- blurred vision (with possible change in pupil size) - tachycardia (with/without irregular heart rate) - nausea/vomiting/diarrhea/abdominal cramping - abrupt onset of menstruation (out of cycle) - muscular twitching, sustained cramping - muscular weakness or incoordination or loss of muscular control or persistent fatigue/weakness - mental status changes (difficulty in concentrating, word-finding difficulties, lethargy, disorientation, nocturnal hallucinations)

(4) PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

- Canisters, projectiles, other munitions - ESPECIALLY THOSE UNMARKED OR NOT BEARING THE WORDS "OC"/"OLEORESIN CAPSAISCUM"/"CS"/"CN" - any modifications of the above (eg CX, BZ, CN IV) are also of SPECIAL INTEREST. - Clothing or other items (masks, scarves, caps, backpacks, gloves, goggles, etc) present at the time of exposure to agents causing and/or at the onset of the "neurotoxic"/"non-irritant" symptoms listed above. Items should not have been laundered/decontaminated since exposure -Those possessing such items should

(a) take photograph of item on current front page of paper (date visible) to confirm time of possession along with piece of paper legibly bearing your surname or unique identifier. (b) record serial #'s, manufacturer, any other data - UNMARKED CANISTERS OR THOSE WITHOUT LEGIBLE MARKINGS MAY BE PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT (c) store items in sealed plastic bag in area not accesible to pets/children/moisture/food and away from sleeping area - place plastic bag in metal tin of sort used for holiday cookies. (d) NOTIFY PSR-LA ASAP via phone (310)458-2694 or email (psrsm@psr.org) - PLEASE DO NOT MAIL OR SHIP ITEMS - we will arrange for items to be taken into direct physical possession of secure courier(s) to ensure preservation of chain of evidence and to ensure that critical evidence is not "lost" during shipping/mail/transfer.

(5) any treatment(s)/decontamination/response or lack thereof to same;

(6) exposure to chemical weapons without direct irritation (eg - some victims reported experiencing the onset of the "non-irritant" symptoms after exposure to a fine powderish suspended aerosol emitted by projectile devices in the Pike's Place area, but did not experience any symptoms of irritation such as burning on mucous membranes, eyes, airways, or skin).