Who Cleans Up the Tear Gas?
- Patrick Duggan
- Jan 24
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 25
The Question Nobody Is Asking
Three blocks from where federal agents shot and killed a man this morning, children with cancer are receiving chemotherapy.
Children's Minnesota sits at 2525 Chicago Ave - 25th & Chicago. The shooting at Glam Doll Donuts happened at 26th & Nicollet. Three blocks. Maybe four.
After the shooting, agents deployed chemical irritants to disperse protesters. The same chemicals they've been deploying across South Minneapolis for weeks.
Here's the question: Who cleans this up?
Not the bodies. Not the trauma. The actual chemicals saturating the neighborhood where sick children and their families are trying to survive.
What's Being Deployed
Canisters recovered at Minneapolis protest sites were manufactured by Defense Technology (Caspar, Wyoming) and contain:
Agent | Chemical Name | Properties |
CS Gas | 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile | Known carcinogen. Banned in warfare by Chemical Weapons Convention (1993). Lingers on surfaces for 30+ days. |
OC Spray | Oleoresin Capsicum | Pepper-based irritant. Causes respiratory distress. |
Portland tested their storm drains after similar deployments in 2020. They found:
Contaminant | Source | Health Effects |
Barium | CS gas | Cardiovascular, gastrointestinal damage |
Hexavalent chromium | CS gas | Carcinogen (Erin Brockovich chemical) |
Cyanide | CS gas | Respiratory, neurological damage |
Lead | Munitions | Neurotoxicity, developmental harm in children |
Copper | Munitions | Liver damage |
Zinc | Munitions | Respiratory irritation |
These chemicals were found in elevated levels in sediment in catch basins. All 11 storm drains in Portland's protest zone drain directly to the Willamette River.
In Minneapolis, the storm drains feed the Mississippi.
The Precedent: Nobody Cleans It Up
Portland NEPA Lawsuit (2020-2022)
Five environmental groups sued DHS, alleging they violated the National Environmental Policy Act by deploying chemical weapons without environmental impact assessment.
Federal response: The situation justified it. Case should be dismissed.
Outcome: Dismissed in 2021. Judge ruled Operation Diligent Valor had ended, making the case moot.
Biden DOJ position: Continued arguing it was moot. No cleanup ordered.
Fine assessed: City of Portland fined the federal government $20,000 for blocking storm drain access.
That's it. Twenty thousand dollars. The chemicals are still in the river.
The Settlements That Don't Help
City | Settlement | For What |
Philadelphia | $9 million | Injuries to protesters |
Seattle | $10 million | Injuries to protesters |
Portland | $9.1 million+ | Injuries to protesters and journalists |
These settlements compensated people who were injured. Not a single dollar went to environmental remediation. Not one lawsuit has successfully forced the federal government to clean up chemical contamination from crowd control agents.
The Tonka Parallel (Mound, MN)
Minnesotans know this pattern. The Tonka Toys Main Plant in Mound is still on the EPA Superfund list.
Timeline | Event |
1946-1983 | Tonka manufactures toys, buries hazardous waste |
1983 | Closes plant, moves manufacturing to Mexico |
1991 | Acquired by Hasbro |
Years later | Chemicals discovered in groundwater near Lake Minnetonka |
Decades | MPCA litigation, cleanup orders |
Today | Still on Superfund list |
Deploy chemicals
Leave
Deny responsibility
Decades of litigation
Maybe cleanup, eventually
Local community gets sick in the meantime
The Minneapolis Reality
3,000 federal agents deployed to Minneapolis metro.
2,500 arrests in "Operation Metro Surge."
3 shootings in 17 days. 2 fatalities.
Eat Street corridor
Lake Street
Neighborhoods surrounding Children's Minnesota
Who Lives Here?
This isn't just a protest zone. This is a neighborhood. People live here:
Families with children at Children's Minnesota - some staying for weeks or months during cancer treatment, transplants, surgeries
Restaurant workers (Eat Street is Minneapolis's dining corridor)
Residents of apartment buildings
Small business owners
Elderly residents
People with respiratory conditions
CS gas "lingers on surfaces for over a month." These families are walking through it. Breathing it. Their immunocompromised children are exposed to it.
The Legal Framework (Such As It Is)
Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)
Theoretically allows lawsuits against the federal government for property damage. In practice:
Discretionary Function Exception: If the action "involves the exercise of judgment," the government is immune
Portland precedent: NEPA lawsuit dismissed as moot
No successful cleanup orders: Zero precedent for forcing federal chemical remediation
State Environmental Law
Minnesota could theoretically pursue action under MERLA (Minnesota Environmental Response Liability Act) - the same law used against Tonka.
Political will to sue the federal government
DOJ not retaliating (they're already investigating Walz and Frey for "obstruction")
Years of litigation
Federal government actually complying with orders
Property Owner Lawsuits
They bear the burden of proving contamination
They pay for testing
They pay for remediation upfront
They maybe recover costs years later through litigation
Insurance may or may not cover "chemical agents deployed by federal government"
The Questions
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Who is testing the air quality around Children's Minnesota right now?
Who is testing the storm drains in South Minneapolis for barium, hexavalent chromium, and cyanide?
Who is monitoring the health effects on immunocompromised children exposed to CS gas residue?
Who pays when a family's child with leukemia develops respiratory complications from chemical exposure?
Who cleans the Eat Street corridor when the feds leave?
What is the long-term cancer risk for residents of neighborhoods repeatedly gassed with known carcinogens?
Why is a chemical banned in warfare legal to deploy three blocks from a children's hospital?
What We Know
The federal government will not voluntarily clean this up. Portland proved that.
The lawsuits will be dismissed as moot. Portland proved that.
The settlements will compensate injuries, not remediation. Philadelphia, Seattle, and Portland proved that.
The chemicals will remain in the environment for years. Tonka proved that.
The local community will bear the health consequences. Every Superfund site in America proved that.
What You Can Do
Document Everything
Photograph canisters (don't touch - hazardous waste)
Note dates, times, locations of deployments
Record visible residue on buildings, streets, vehicles
Document health symptoms
Demand Testing
MPCA: 651-296-6300
Online: pca.state.mn.us
Contact Your Representatives
Sen. Amy Klobuchar: 612-727-5220
Sen. Tina Smith: 612-433-2100
Rep. Ilhan Omar: 612-333-1272
Support Affected Families
Families at Children's Minnesota didn't choose to have their children exposed to tear gas. They're already dealing with the worst moments of their lives.
The Bottom Line
Three blocks from Children's Minnesota, federal agents are deploying chemical weapons banned in warfare.
The precedent says nobody will clean it up.
The precedent says the lawsuits will be dismissed.
The precedent says the families will bear the cost.
The only question is whether Minnesota accepts that precedent or fights it.
Her name was Renee Nicole Good.
We don't know his name yet.
The children at Children's Minnesota have names too.
DugganUSA LLC Minneapolis, MN January 24, 2026
Sources
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