Barbecue smoke worse than tear gas, says govt

Barbecue smoke worse than tear gas, says govt

Jimmy Choi reports

The government has responded to growing concerns that the police's firing of massive amounts of tear gas could be harming the health of the Hong Kong public by saying that even having a barbecue can pose more of a risk to people.



More than 10,000 rounds of tear gas have been fired since the city's protests began in June and the administration's refusal to reveal the chemical content of the gas has only added to fears that the public is being poisoned.



In Legco on Wednesday, Labour Party lawmaker Fernando Cheung asked whether the government has conducted any assessments to find out whether tear gas could affect the long-term health of people with disabilities.



In response, Welfare Secretary Law Chi-kwong said tear gas only causes mild respiratory and skin irritation.



He added that protesters burning plastic barriers would have been one of the biggest causes of toxic dioxins in the city's air recently.



"For the dioxins resulting from tear gas, I think it has been found from literature that it is minimal or even non-existent. In fact when compared with dioxins resulting from our barbecue activities, I think the level is indeed very minimal," Law said.



The round after round of tear gas fired by the police since early June have not only affected protesters, passers-by and journalists, but also people in schools, elderly care homes, hospitals, and those in their own homes.



The government says the chemical content of the tear gas cannot be revealed due to police operational reasons.