Stérilets en cuivre

Résultat de recherche d'images pour "modèles DIU cuivre"

Il nous a été rapporté qu’après gazage, certaines femmes avaient le stérilet qui se déplaçait, tombait, et lorsqu’il était retiré, il semblait totalement « fondu ».

L’affinité du cyanure pour le cuivre est connue et même exploitée dans des contextes industriels (Source : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26704063 ). Il provoque sa corrosion (Source : https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/copper-corrosion ). La présence de cyanure dans le sang pourrait donc expliquer la corrosion subie par les stérilets en cuivre spécifiquement.

Les marques de stérilets ne contenant PAS de cuivre sont : « Mirena », « Kyleena » et « Jaydess ». Si vous avez un stérilet, pas de problème a priori. Par contre les marques « NT », « Monalisa » et « 7med » contiennent du cuivre, attention à les surveiller (Source ; http://www.apima.org/img_bronner/Tableau_sterilets.pdf )

Les fumeurs ont un niveau de cuivre circulant plus élevé que les non-fumeurs (Source : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29064789 ) et une diminution de l’élimintation dans les urines. Donc une femme fumeuse ayant perdu son stérilet peut sans doute s’inquiéter des niveaux de cuivre dans le sang, à l’origine de nombreux problèmes de santé (Source : https://www.inspq.qc.ca/eau-potable/cuivre ). Il peut être judicieux de vérifier votre niveau de cuivre dans le sang après gazage et perte de stérilet, surtout pour les fumeuses !

NDDL : POUR LE MAIRE, « IL EST HORS DE QUESTION D’AVOIR DES HABITATS EN ZONE HUMIDE »

Lien vers l’article

 12h33, le 22 avril 2018

L’ultimatum pour se déclarer en préfecture se termine lundi soir. Les zadistes sont divisés sur la marche à suivre. 

Le calme semble revenir du côté de Notre-Dame-des-Landes, à la veille de l’ultimatum des autorités pour déposer un dossier individuel en préfecture. Après le démantèlement de 29 squats la semaine dernière, il reste une soixantaine d’habitats précaires sur les 97 recensés. Les autorités restent déterminées à « mettre un terme à l’occupation illégale » sur le site de 1.650 hectares.

Pour le maire de la ville, Jean-Paul Naud, ceux qui ne rentrent pas dans le cadre de la légalité devront partir. « Je l’ai déjà dit à certains zadistes, il est hors de question d’avoir des habitats en zone humide », souligne l’édile. « Il y a 2% de zone non-humide sur ce territoire et ceux qui resteront devront rester sur ces 2% et cela peut difficilement faire 200 personnes », poursuit-il. 

Division chez les zadistes. Les zadistes sont divisés sur la marche à suivre. Si certains ont décidé de se mettre en conformité, d’autres ont au contraire fait le choix de partir. « La forme légale du territoire que l’on va devoir avoir sur la Zad va nous priver d’un champ de possible qu’on avait encore sous la main il y a quelques jours », estime Camille, un soudeur présent sur la Zad depuis deux ans et qui a décidé de partir.  

Violents affrontements. Depuis le 9 avril et le lancement des opérations de gendarmerie à Notre-Dame-des-Landes, les violents affrontements ont fait 75 blessés chez les forces de l’ordre et plus de 270 du côté des opposants, qui ont saisi le Défenseur des droits. Les heurts avaient gagné en intensité à mesure de l’avancée des démolitions de squats. A chaque coup de pelleteuse, les opposants et leurs soutiens, dont des « black blocs » venus de toute la France et d’Europe, ont répondu par des barricades et le creusement de tranchées. Les forces de l’ordre ont essuyé cocktails Molotov, pierres ou bouteilles en verre, répliquant par le jet de 11.000 grenades, dont 10.000 lacrymogènes, en dix jours, selon une source proche du dossier.

KENYA POLICE TEAR-GAS PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN PLAYGROUND PROTEST

Lien vers l’article

Children as young as eight choke as tear gas canisters are fired by police at protest over seizure of their school playground

AFP

2:45PM GMT 19 Jan 2015

Kenyan police fired tear gas at children as young as eight protesting on Monday against the seizure of their school playground by a property developer.

Around 100 primary school children and a small group of activists pushed over a newly built wall that separated playing fields and the school buildings, close to the capital Nairobi’s main domestic airport.

The majority of the children were aged between eight and 13.

Around 40 armed police accompanied by dogs dispersed the protesters by firing tear gas canisters, an AFP photographer at the scene said.

Dozens of children were caught in choking clouds of tear gas before being forced to shelter on a pedestrian bridge over the main road to escape the noxious fumes.

Related Articles

Children screamed as police officers in riot gear and waving truncheons pushed them back, some panicking as they sought water to wash their burning eyes.

At least five children received medical treatment while one policeman was wounded, seen with blood pouring down beneath his riot helmet.

A senior police officer at the demonstration, Mwangi Kuria, told Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper that officers had been deployed to « safeguard the property », adding that rocks had been thrown at his men.

« This is disputed land, but they should not use the children, » Kuria was quoted as saying.

Two activists were detained by police, Kenyan media said.

Macharia Njeru, chairman of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, said the incident would be investigated.

« Tear-gassing children is inexcusable, » he said.

Renowned activist Boniface Mwangi said a « school playground is a necessity, not a privilege. »

Some of the children carried placards protesting against the alleged land grab.

« Kenya: the land of shameless grabbers, » read one, with others pleading for government to fight corruption.

« Shame! » read another. « Grabber, you won’t live forever. »

The incident sparked angry reactions on social media, including Twitter, where comments used the hashtag « £OccupyPlayGround ».

« Shame on the government for assaulting children with tear gas to protect the corrupt, » politician and former presidential hopeful Martha Karua said on Twitter.

Monday was the first school day since the wall was built during the holidays.

Nairobi, a city of more than three million people, is rapidly growing and land prices are rising at some of the fastest rates anywhere on the continent, according to real estate experts.

LA POLICÍA CHILENA DEJARÁ DE USAR GASES LACRIMÓGENOS

Lien vers l’article

Jorge Barreno | ValparaisoActualizado martes 17/05/201123:00 horas

El ministro del Interior, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, ha anunciado que Carabineros dejará de utilizar gases lacrimógenos para reprimir las manifestaciones. Así lo ha indicado hoy después de la polémica suscitada por el uso de estos productos.

« Nos parece que es razonable suspender el uso de esos gases lacrimógenos hasta que nuevos informes médicos nos permitan disipar más allá de cualquier duda la procedencia del empleo de estos gases para enfrentar situaciones de desorden público », ha dicho el ministro del Interior.

Estudio médico

ELMUNDO.es publicó la semana pasada un reportaje en el que se hablaba del potencial peligro de estas sustancias (https://www.elmundo.es/america/2011/05/11/noticias/1305079802.html). “Hay antecedentes documentados de que los agentes químicos con que se fabrican las bombas lacrimógenas son abortivos. Además de producir graves daños a la salud, inciden negativamente en los aparatos reproductivos masculino y femenino”, escribía el doctor Andrei Tchernitchin, profesor de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Chile, en un estudio sobre los gases lacrimógenos llevado a cabo en los años 80.

El pasado 12 de mayo una estudiante de Sociología de la ciudad de Concepción, situada a unos 500 kilómetros al sur de Santiago, resultó herida en el ojo. La mujer recibió el impacto de un bote de gas lacrimógeno durante los enfrentamientos entre la policía y miles de estudiantes que protestaban por la reforma de la educación.

« Hay tranquilidad porque estamos frente a elementos que pueden usarse frente a situaciones de desórdenes públicos y que son los mismos que se vienen usando hace décadas », añadió Rodrigo Hinzpeter. « Se realizarán estudios médicos para evaluar el impacto de estos gases en la salud de la población ».

« La protección de nuestros compatriotas es el principal objetivo de nuestro Gobierno, nos parece que es razonable suspender el uso de esos gases lacrimógenos hasta que nuevos informes médicos nos permitan disipar más allá de cualquier duda la procedencia del empleo de estos gases para enfrentar situaciones de desorden público o vandalismo”, manifestó también el ministro del Interior chileno.

Reunión especial

Amplios sectores de la oposición, e incluso representantes de Renovación Nacional (RN), el partido político al que pertenece el presidente de Chile, Sebastián Piñera, habían expresado su preocupación por el uso de estas bombas lacrimógenas.

La diputada de Renovación Nacional, Karla Rubilar, informó ayer que la comisión de Salud de la Cámara Baja iba a llevar a cabo una reunión especial para analizar los efectos que tienen en el organismo los gases y bombas lacrimógenas que usa Carabineros en protestas.

Tras anunciar la medida, Hinzpeter alentó a la población para usar de manera responsable el derecho a manifestarse y a reunirse: « Tenemos que hacer un llamado a los compatriotas para que hagamos uso del derecho a manifestarse y el derecho a reunirse en forma pacífica, en forma ordenada y especialmente en forma respetuosa en que son miles y millones quienes muchas veces no quieren por cualquier razón participar de estas mismas manifestaciones ».

Manifestantes y efectivos de Carabineros de Chile se preparan para afrontar la Cuenta Anual del Presidente de la República de Chile, más conocido como Mensaje Presidencial o Discurso del 21 de mayo, en el que Sebastián Piñera rendirá cuentas del curso electoral. Este año se esperan multitudinarias protestas debido a la aprobación del proyecto de Hidroaysén y a otros temas como la privatización de la educación.

NON-LETHAL WEAPONS MARKET BY END USER (MILITARY, LAW ENFORCEMENT), PRODUCT TYPE (DIRECT CONTACT WEAPONS, DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS), TECHNOLOGY (ELECTROMAGNETIC, MECHANICAL & KINETIC, CHEMICAL & OTHERS) & REGION – GLOBAL FORECAST TO 2020

Lien vers l’article

The non-lethal weapons market is projected to grow from USD 5.65 billion in 2015 to USD 8.37 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period of 2015 to 2020. Non-lethal weapons also known as less lethal weapons and this report covers forecasts of the non-lethal weapons market and its dynamics over the next five years, while also recognizing market application gaps, evolving technologies, recent developments in the market, and high potential geographic regions and countries. The non-lethal weapons market has been analyzed on the basis of end user (including military and law enforcement), product type (direct contact weapons, directed energy weapons), and technology (electromagnetic, mechanical & kinetic, chemical, others), considering 2014 as the base year and forecast period of 2015 to 2020.  The report provides in-depth market intelligence regarding the non-lethal weapon market and major factors, including drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges that may influence the growth of the market. It also provides an analysis of micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, growth prospects, and their contribution to the overall market.

Market Dynamics

Drivers

  • Increasing political disputes and civil unrest
  • Militarization of law enforcement agencies

Restraints

  • Stringent environment and governmental regulations
  • Declining defense budgets of advanced economies

Opportunities

  • Increasing research and development
  • Increasing defense expenditures of emerging economies

Challenges

  • Trafficking and indiscriminate use of non-lethal weapons
  • Apprehensions among end users

Increasing political disputes and civil unrest drives the global non-lethal weapons market

Political disputes, violence, and civil unrest have been on the rise globally, in the recent years, driven by domestic as well as geopolitical situations and policies. The adverse geopolitical conditions in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia have contributed highly to this global trend. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 16 high to severe risk countries, barring a few others, driven by the increasing political violence and insurgency in the region. In terms of concentration of risk of political violence and civil unrest, the major affected regions have been identified to be the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa. Rising political violence, terrorism, insurgency, and civil unrest in the Middle East is expected to render the region the highest growing in the market for non-lethal weapons in the coming years. The intensification of political violence in Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Saudi Arabia can be regarded as one of the major factors for this trend. Some of the key conflicts or instances of conflict/civil unrest in the Middle East have been represented below:

Non-lethal Weapons Market

The following are the major objectives of the study.

  • To analyze the overall non-lethal weapons market, along with market projections from 2015 to 2020
  • To define, describe and forecast the global non-lethal weapons market based on end user, product type, and technology, along with country-level analysis
  • To understand the market structure by identifying various subsegments of the non-lethal weapons market
  • To provide in-depth market intelligence regarding market dynamics and major factors that influence the growth of the non-lethal weapons market (drivers, restraints, opportunities and industry-specific challenges)
  • To strategically analyze micromarkets1 with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the overall non-lethal weapons market
  • To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying key market trends
  • To forecast the market size of segments with respect to major countries, namely the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Russia, Turkey, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, UAE, and Brazil, among others
  • To analyze competitive developments such as long-term contracts, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, new product launches and developments, and research and development in the non-lethal weapons market
  • To provide a detailed competitive landscape of the non-lethal weapons market, along with analysis of the business and corporate strategies adopted by the key market players
  • To strategically profile key market players and comprehensively analyze their core competencies2

During this research study, major players operating in the non-lethal weapons market in various regions have been identified, and their offerings, regional presence, and distribution channels have been analyzed through in-depth discussions. Top-down and bottom-up approaches have been used to determine the overall market size. Sizes of the other individual markets have been estimated using the percentage splits obtained through secondary sources such as Hoovers, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Factiva, along with primary respondents. The entire procedure includes the study of the annual and financial reports of the top market players and extensive interviews with industry experts such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and marketing executives for key insights (both qualitative and quantitative) pertaining to the market. The figure below shows the breakdown of the primaries on the basis of the company type, designation, and region considered during the research study.

Non-lethal Weapons Market

To know about the assumptions considered for the study, download the pdf brochure

The ecosystem of the non-lethal weapons market comprises of raw material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and end users. The key end users of the non-lethal weapons market are law enforcement sector, followed by military. Some of the key players of the non-lethal weapons market include Taser International Manufacturing Company (US), Combined Systems Inc. (US), and The Safariland Group (US), among others.

Target Audience

  • Non-lethal weapons manufacturers
  • Non-lethal weapons dealers
  • Sub-component manufacturers
  • Technology support providers

Scope of the Report

This research report categorizes the global non-lethal weapons market into the following segments and subsegments:

Global Non-lethal Weapons Market, By End User

  • Law Enforcement  
  • Military

Global Non-lethal Weapons Market, By Product Type

  • Direct Contact Weapons
  • Directed Energy Weapons

Global Non-lethal Weapons Market, By Technology

  • Electromagnetic
  • Mechanical and Kinetic
  • Chemical
  • Others

Global Non-lethal Weapons Market, By Region

  • North America
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Latin America
  • Africa

Critical questions which the report answers

  • How will the non-lethal weapons market drivers, restraints and future opportunities affect the market dynamics and subsequent market analysis of the associated trends?
  • Which are the key players in the market and how intense is the competition?

Customizations available for the report

With the given market data, MarketsandMarkets offers customizations as per specific needs of a company. The following customization options are available for the report:

Geographic Analysis

  • Further breakdown of the Rest of Asia-Pacific market into Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand, among others

Company Information

  • Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (Upto 5)

The non-lethal weapons market is projected to grow from USD 5.65 billion in 2015 to USD 8.37 billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period. Factors such as militarization of law enforcement agencies, polarization of civilians and driving maximum efficacy and minimum liability, among others are directly influencing the non-lethal weapons market.

The non-lethal weapons market is a highly dynamic and high-potential market for several reasons. The volatile dynamics of this market can be attributed to the changing geo-political dynamics of the global economy as well as the increasing incidences armed conflicts, violence, and terrorism, among others. For instance, the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asian regions have been identified to be high-potential markets for non-lethal weapons, owing to the exponential growth in demand from these regions in recent years. These rising trends of demand are the consequences of various instances of civil unrest and conflicts in these regions, such as the civil war in Syria, sectarian conflicts in Lebanon, political violence in Jerusalem, and so on. Such events call for highly enhanced response from law enforcement as well as military forces. As a result, the procurement of non-lethal weapons by law enforcement agencies is slated to increase significantly in the coming years.

In this report, the market has been segmented by product type, by end-user and by technology. The product type is subcategorized as direct contact weapons and directed energy weapons, whereas the end–user is segmented into military and law enforcement. The directed energy weapons market is growing at a higher CAGR in comparison with direct contact weapons due to advancement in laser technologies and microwave-based weapons, such as active denial systems or ‘pain ray’ weapons.

The Asia-Pacific region is expected to exhibit the highest growth rate in the non-lethal weapons market, and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period from 2015 to 2020. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR because several Asia-Pacific countries such as India, China, Australia, South Korea, and others have focused on production of non-lethal weapons for military and law enforcement application, such as border control, riot control, and de-escalations use in one-on-one conflict, among others.

Non-lethal Weapons Market

The growth of the non-lethal weapons market may, however, be affected by certain major restraints in the coming years. These factors include stringent environmental and governmental regulations, and declining defense budgets of advanced economies, among others.

Several key players operating in the global non-lethal weapons market have been identified to be Taser International Manufacturing Company (US), Combined Systems Inc. (US), The Safariland Group (US), and Amtec Less Lethal Systems Inc. (US) and Condor Non-lethal technologies (Brazil), among others. Long-term contracts, and mergers and acquisitions are the major growth strategies adopted by the major players to strengthen their position in the non-lethal weapons market, while also enhancing their product offerings.

non-lethal weapon market industry analysis

Qualitative Market AnalysisQuantitative Market Analysis
Market dynamics and key challengesMarket size estimates and forecast up to 2022
Industry and Technology TrendsMarket size estimates and forecasts up to 2022, by end user
Innovation & Patent RegistrationsMarket size estimates and forecasts up to 2022, by product type and technology
Competitive Landscape & Competitive ScenarioRegional market size forecasts, by end user, product type, technology
Company Profiles & Market Ranking AnalysisCountries market size forecasts, by technology

Law enforcement segment of non-lethal weapon market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The non-lethal weapon market has been segmented based on end user into military and law enforcement. The overall non-lethal weapons market is dominated by the law enforcement segment, primarily because law enforcement agencies are deployed for riot control, and military personnel are deployed only when the riot situation is out of control of the police forces or Special Forces.

End User, 2016 (%)

Non-lethal Weapons Market

Law Enforcement

The law enforcement segment, in this context, is constituted by three sub-segments, namely, first responder, police forces, and Special Forces. Among these agencies, the police forces segment dominates the non-lethal weapons market, as of 2015. Special Forces have primarily resulted from the increasing militarization of police forces worldwide; for instance, the SWAT (Special Weapons & Tactics) team in the US.

Law Enforcement, By type 2016 (%)

Non-lethal Weapons Market

Police forces are deployed in large numbers during disasters, accidents, terrorist attacks, riots, and many such incidents that may affect citizens or public assets. To neutralize such threats, police forces are instructed to first use non-lethal weapons, as per the rules of engagement. The following figure represents the market projections for the law enforcement non-lethal weapons market during the period of 2014 to 2020.

SOUTH KOREA SUSPENDS TEAR GAS EXPORTS TO BAHRAIN

Lien vers l’article

By Schams Elwazer, Mohammed Jamjoom and KJ Kwon, CNN

Updated 1124 GMT (1924 HKT) January 9, 2014

A protester runs from tear gas fired by Bahrain's riot police during a protest west of Manama on December 17.

A protester runs from tear gas fired by Bahrain’s riot police during a protest west of Manama on December 17.

Story highlights

  • Rights groups pressure the South Korean government to halt shipments to Bahrain
  • The move comes after months of campaigning against the use of tear gas
  • Bahraini authorities say tear gas is necessary to maintain order
  • The Bahrain interior ministry says it was not told of the ban by Seoul

South Korea is suspending exports of tear gas canisters to the Gulf island nation of Bahrain amid pressure from human rights groups, an official said Thursday. »We’ve decided to suspend (the shipment of tear gas) because of the unstable political situation in Bahrain, requests from human rights groups and civilian deaths, » an official with South Korea’s state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which oversees the country’s military trade, said. »We got requests Dae Kwang Chemical Corporation and another company on whether they can get permission to export the tear gas to Bahrain, » the DAPA official said. »After discussions with the Defense and Foreign Ministries on the issue, we informed the companies to suspend the exports. »The move by Seoul comes after months of campaigning by rights groups who say the Bahraini authorities’ misuse of tear gas has led to dozens of deaths as the Shiite majority protests against the Sunni-led government. The authorities have argued that tear gas is necessary to maintain order.Human rights groups had launched a campaign called Stop The Shipment after leaked government documents appeared to show that Bahrain, a country of 1.3 million people, had ordered around 1.6 million tear gas canisters.In October, the U.S.-based group Physicians for Human Rights reported that Bahrain’s police « weaponized tear gas » had caused the deaths of at least 39 people since February 2011 in an ongoing crackdown on anti-government protests, a claim the government disputes.Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said it had not been informed of any such ban by Seoul. »Teargas is used by Bahrain’s police force only as a necessary and proportionate measure and in public order and riot control situations. It is used entirely in compliance with international law, » it said in a statement on Wednesday.Bahraini and international rights groups welcomed the move. »I think it’s great news and we commend South Korea on the decision they’ve taken, » Bahraini rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja said. »We’re starting with tear gas but we expect to see countries who say they are concerned about human rights stop the sale of all types of weapons to Bahrain. »

Physicians for Human Rights

Un document complet concernant le Bahreïn : https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_Reports/Bahrain-TearGas-Aug2012-small.pdf

Alsetex, entreprise française qui a exporté du gaz CS : https://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/Ressources/File/430086

Persecution of Health Professionals | Persecution in Bahrain

Lien vers l’article

After the pro-democracy uprising started in Bahrain in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring, the government responded with a widespread, severe crackdown. Doctors in Bahrain, who had first-hand knowledge of government atrocities, quickly became a target after treating hundreds of protesting civilians. The Bahraini government systematically targeted medical personnel who treated, unbiasedly, wounded protestors. PHR went to Bahrain to investigate and document these attacks.

Our 2011 report Do No Harm, published following a PHR visit to Bahrain, presents forensic evidence that documents government attacks on physicians, medical staff, patients, and unarmed civilians with the use of bird shot, physical beatings, rubber bullets, tear gas, and unidentified chemical agents. Our 2012 report Under the Gun: Ongoing Assaults on Bahrain’s Health System shows the devastation on Bahrain’s health system that resulted from the Government of Bahrain’s continued assault on doctors, patients, and the health care system. Bahrain’s abuses in the spring of 2011 are the most extreme violations of medical neutrality in the past half century, and history will remember them as such.

PHR not only documented abuses against Bahraini doctors, but also began working on behalf of our medical colleagues in Bahrain in 2011. The data below tracked Bahraini physicians who were sentenced to prison starting in 2011. Following an international outcry, in-part led by PHR, draconian convictions of up to 15 years for baseless charges were in some cases reduced to months. While some doctors served their shorter sentences and were released, many continued to face difficulties in being reinstated to their jobs, reissuing their medical license and running their private practices. Hear directly from Bahraini medics and the systematic discrimination they faced in the country. Most of the doctors who were reinstated were demoted and stripped of supervising responsibilities. The main hospital in Bahrain continues to be under military control, with the Ministry of Interior continuing to exert pressure on all medical facilities, denying people treatment and arresting them from the hospitals. There has been no compensation or rehabilitation offered to the doctors who were subjected to torture, arbitrary detention and unfair trial.

ISRAEL’S USE OF TEAR GAS SCRUTINIZED

Lien vers l’article

By Glenn FrankelMay 31, 1988

JABALIYA, GAZA STRIP — It was a typical week in this densely populated refugee camp. There were Israeli soldiers and Arab stone throwers playing cat-and-mouse games through the winding, garbage-strewn alleyways. There were rubber bullets and fiberglass billy clubs on one side and slingshots, bottles and concrete blocks on the other. And, as always, there was tear gas.

For two days, Ikkram Said, a slender, 27-year-old woman who was four months pregnant, said she could smell fumes wafting into her courtyard from outside. Even with the windows closed, she said, her eyes stung, she coughed constantly and had trouble breathing. Then one day she noticed blood when she went to the toilet and became frightened.

She had a friend drive her to the camp’s United Nations health clinic and was advised to go to Shifa Hospital in nearby Gaza City. By the time she got there she had stomach cramps and uterine contractions. Soon after, she miscarried.

Said’s story represents another question mark in one of the most troubling, elusive and emotive issues to arise during the 23-week Arab uprising: the effects on the Palestinian population of the Israeli Army’s frequent use of tear gas as a nonlethal riot-control weapon.

Palestinian doctors and officials working for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that operates the refugee camps contend there have been more than 1,200 injuries, dozens of miscarriages and at least 11 deaths from tear gas since the uprising began Dec. 9. The Washington-based Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee has put deaths at 41 and used that figure in a successful lobbying campaign that last month led the American manufacturer of the gas to suspend sales to Israel.

While they concede they lack hard data and autopsy results to verify many of their claims, these sources contend the weight of circumstantial evidence clearly indicates that tear gas is at least a significant contributing factor in deaths and miscarriages among a refugee camp population that, even in the best of times, is in a precarious state of health.

« There is until now no solid scientific proof, but certainly the accumulated evidence is strongly incriminating, » said Dr. Samir Badri, a Palestinian who is UNRWA’s chief health officer in the Gaza Strip.

« When you see a woman with no previous history of miscarriages or bleeding, and after exposure to tear gas she bleeds and aborts, you can say safely it is the gas. »

Israeli officials contend the Palestinian claims are based on false or unsubstantiated information and are designed to fuel a propaganda crusade that portrays Israel as waging a form of chemical warfare against a hapless civilian population.

« We have not seen any cases where it could be proven by a coroner that anybody has been killed due to exposure to tear gas, » said Brig. Gen. Yehuda Danon, the Israeli Army’s surgeon general, in a telephone interview, « and we have no scientific evidence that there have been more miscarriages following the use of {tear gas}. »

Medical experts say the issue is further complicated by the fact that accurate statistics and unbiased accounts are largely unobtainable in the chaos of civil unrest and military crackdown that has reigned in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip since December.

But within the cross fire of charges and countercharges, interviews with Palestinian, Israeli and American doctors who have first-hand experience with tear gas, a reexamination of several cases, and eyewitness accounts during recent months all point to these facts about the use of tear gas during the uprising:There is no credible evidence to support Palestinian claims that the Israelis are using any gas or toxic chemicals other than the standard chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, known as « CS, » manufactured by Federal Laboratories Inc. of Saltzburg, Pa. When properly used outdoors, the gas has limited effects that generally wear off in 15 to 30 minutes.There is, however, much evidence indicating that on numerous occasions soldiers and police have violated the manufacturer’s printed warnings by firing the gas into enclosed areas such as rooms or small courtyards. Most experts agree that such misuse of the gas can be harmful, especially to small children, the elderly, pregnant women and people suffering from heart or lung problems.There is debate over the possible long-term health effects of tear gas and growing concern among human-rights groups and some medical experts about its widespread use in countries including Israel, South Korea and Panama.Health conditions in the squalid, overcrowded refugee camps of Gaza have deteriorated dramatically in recent months due to disruptions of medical services and child feeding programs caused both by Palestinian violence and Israeli military restrictions. As a result, the population is more vulnerable to many kinds of health hazards, one of which is exposure to tear gas.

Upon close examination, some of the U.N. and Palestinian claims appear groundless. After a visit to Gaza last month, UNRWA health director John Hiddlestone told a press conference in Vienna about an incident in which two young Palestinians were beaten by soldiers and confined in a room where a reddish aerosal spray was used. « The room was then shut and after an hour or so two dead bodies were removed, » said Hiddlestone, who said soldiers apparently had used « some very toxic nerve gas. »

Hiddlestone was talking about the death of Basel Yazuri, age 18, who was killed Jan. 8 in the Rafah refugee camp, according to UNRWA officials. But Jerusalem Post reporter Bradley Burston, who visited Yazuri’s house shortly after the incident, said that besides the red powder on the walls and furniture of the room, which apparently came from an Army smoke grenade, there were also multiple bullet holes indicating someone had sprayed the room with an automatic rifle.

UNRWA’s own report on the incident states Yazuri died from bullet wounds and that there was no second fatality. The Army contends Yazuri was shot dead while attacking a soldier with a knife. Arab witnesses at the scene claimed he was badly beaten before being shot, and the question of whether Yazuri’s death was justifiable homicide remains open. But no one except Hiddlestone says he was gassed.

In camps such as Jabaliya, tear gas has become part of everyday life as well as a key element in the mythology of the Palestinian uprising. Children turn the spent metal canisters into toys or wear them proudly as necklaces. Dozens of canisters are hung defiantly from utility lines throughout the camp. Almost every house, it seems, boasts a collection of one or more of the thin tin projectiles or grenade-style rubber containers.

There are no figures available on how much tear gas Israeli troops have used since December, but the use is widespread. Soldiers have fired gas canisters from rifles, hurled grenades by hand and dumped 30-inch-long cans from helicopters. Despite printed warnings on the canisters that the gas is « for outdoor use only » and « may cause severe injury if not used in accordance with this warning, » soldiers pursuing alleged rioters have fired tear gas into houses, stores, clinics and even, on occasion, into hospitals.

Even now, at a time when the frequency of violent incidents and fatalities appears to be dropping, Christine Dabbagh, UNRWA’s information officer in Gaza, says she gets daily reports of injuries including tear-gassing from Jabaliya and other camps. On May 21, for example, UNRWA’s Jabaliya clinic reported treating 11 people for gas, including Said, who later miscarried at Shifa Hospital. The following day the report listed six tear-gas victims, two of whom later miscarried.

Altogther, doctors at Shifa Hospital, which serves most of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, say they treated 378 miscarriage cases between December 1987 and February 1988, the first three months of the uprising, compared to 335 during the same period a year earlier. UNRWA health director Badri says he tried to compile statistics to do a similar comparison at the Rafah refugee camp, but the numbers showed no significant increase.

The causes of miscarriages remain elusive because even in normal times, the estimated rate of miscarriages runs as high as 20 percent. Ikkram Said, for example, had a miscarriage and then bore three children before her latest pregnancy. It is impossible to know in retrospect exactly why she aborted this time. Besides her physical symptoms, doctors say her sense of fear after being exposed to tear gas could have been a factor.

Similarly, the death of a three-year-old girl in Gaza City last Friday remains uncertain. Local residents attributed it to tear gas. But the Army said the girl had not shown symptoms of tear gas inhalation when treated at a local hospital and said her body was spirited away by family members before an autopsy could be performed.

Dr. Issa Satti, director and chief surgeon at Ramallah Hospital in the West Bank, recalled last Feb. 20, when soldiers fired two CS gas canisters into the maternity recovery ward. There were five women and four babies in the ward at the time who were quickly evacuated, Satti said, after which he tried to enter the room to remove the canisters.

« I thought I would just throw them out the window, but I could hardly get into the room, » Satti recalled. « It was so concentrated. I started to cough, and then I couldn’t breathe. Even 24 hours later you couldn’t enter the room. »

Satti, who is one of the West Bank’s best known and most respected physicians, said he has concluded after months of watching soldiers use tear gas in Ramallah that « when used properly outdoors, I think it’s harmless. But we’ve had people who have had gas fired into their homes. Someone kept inside long enough could certainly die. »

An Army spokeswoman said soldiers were instructed to use tear gas only in open areas and that other uses of the gas were in violation of orders. She noted that the Army had taken pains to choose a form of tear gas that would not prove harmful to its own soldiers because sudden wind changes often expose them to its effects.

Brig. Gen. Danon said the Army had relied upon two reports in 1969 and 1971 by the Himsworth Royal Commission into the medical and toxicological effects of tear-gas use in Northern Ireland. Both reports indicated that CS gas was the safest and least toxic and had the least long-term health effects, said Danon.

The Army surgeon general conceded that health conditions in Gaza are poor but said many factors associated with the uprising were to blame. The United Nations’ supplemental feeding clinics for pregnant women and children have functioned only sporadically due to civil violence and to military curfews. Sewage systems and running water have broken down in many places and have not been repaired. Garbage collection is sporadic at best.

« All of these are far more important in terms of their effect on the health of the population than the occasional use of riot-control agents such as tear gas, » he said.

But Dr. Jonathan E. Fine, an internist who is executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, a Boston-based rights group, contended that the Himsworth reports had drastically underestimated the harmful effects of CS gas.

« There’s a tremendous under-appreciation of the dangers of tear gas, » said Fine in a telephone interview. « In my opinion it’s a misnomer to call this stuff ‘tear gas.’ It’s really poison gas . . . . « 

A team of four American physicians from Fine’s group who visited the West Bank and Gaza in February said in their report that they could not substantiate claims of an increase in the incidence of miscarriages due to tear gas. Even so, Fine warned, Israel should not take the safety of tear gas for granted.

« I have to question both the logic and the morality of what the Army surgeon general is saying, » said Fine. « It’s a double standard he’s applying here. Would Israel use the same gas on its own children? I don’t believe so. »