Minneapolis, MN: notoriously carcinogenic hexachloroethane smoke deployed on residential streets
By CSP | January 15, 2026
Federal agents are turning Minneapolis neighborhoods into toxic waste zones. Residents are reporting the deployment of “green smoke” canisters during the recent Operation Metro Surge. Do not let the color fool you. This is not standard tear gas. It is a military grade chemical weapon with notoriously carcinogenic properties.
While local police are banned from using chemical irritants because of the danger they pose to the public, federal units operating in our city are using a loophole to deploy a poison that toxicity experts warn causes permanent lung damage and cancer.
The Chemical Reality: It Is Poison Not Protection
The munitions being deployed are Hexachloroethane (HC) smoke grenades. Unlike standard CS gas which is just supposed to hurt you temporarily, HC smoke is designed for war.
When these canisters go off they do not just release smoke. They start a high temperature chemical reaction that produces Zinc Chloride (ZnCl₂).
Corrosive Toxicity: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirms that inhaling Zinc Chloride smoke can lead to chemical pneumonitis. That is the medical term for your lungs being chemically burned from the inside until they fill with fluid.
Carcinogenic Classification: The main ingredient is Hexachloroethane. The National Toxicology Program classifies it as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” It attacks the central nervous system, the liver, and the kidneys. They are spraying cancer causing agents on American families.
The Federal Loophole
This is the ultimate hypocrisy. Following the 2020 uprisings, the City of Minneapolis admitted these weapons were too dangerous and banned their own officers from using them in residential zones.
But the federal agencies involved in the Metro Surge do not care about local laws or your safety. They are not bound by city or state bans. They use federal jurisdiction as a shield to deploy munitions that our own elected officia deemed too dangerous for police use. It is rules for thee but not for me.
The Portland Precedent
We have seen this playbook before. During the 2020 federal deployment in Portland, Oregon, they used this same “green gas” extensively.
Environmental Damage: Analysis by Forensic Architecture proved the chemical concentration in the air exceeded “Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health” levels.
Heavy Metals: Testing of storm drains after the fact found elevated leve lead and zinc. They did not just gas the protesters. They poisoned the water and the land.
The Bottom Line
Using Hexachloroethane in a neighborhood is not crowd control. It is chemical warfare on civilians. Residents are not just being dispersed. They are being exposed to a Class B poison that leaves heavy metal residue in their homes and bodies. They are sacrificing our long term health for their tactical convenience.
For the proof they try to hide, watch this breakdown of the chemical analysis from previous deployments.
Tear Gas Analysis by Forensic Architecture
This video shows the science behind how these agents travel through our streets and the dangerously high concentrations they reach when deployed on us.
