Hexachloroethane (HC) smoke grenades used in operation metro surge
Executive summary
The available reporting shows documented use of hexachloroethane (HC)–type smoke grenades by federal forces during U.S. protest operations in 2020—most thoroughly documented in Portland—while official denials and limits in the public record leave a gap when connecting HC specifically to an operation named “Operation Metro Surge.” Photographic identification of canisters labeled “HC,” recovered munitions and product safety data sheets establish that commercially sold “Maximum HC Smoke” grenades contain hexachloroethane and zinc oxide and are toxic; government statements denying use of HC contrast with independent field collection and analysis [1] [2] [3].
1. What the record actually shows about HC at 2020 federal deployments
Investigative groups and journalists documented canisters labeled “HC” and recovered multiple smoke grenades from protest zones during the 2020 federal deployments to Portland; volunteers with the Chemical Weapons Research Consortium and reporters photographed munitions and collected at least 20 canisters, some retaining Defense Technology labels for “Maximum HC Smoke,” and independent observers noted distinctive burn patterns consistent with HC compositions [1].
2. Manufacturer materials and safety data confirm composition and hazards
The product safety data sheet for Defense Technology’s “Military-Style Maximum Smoke HC Grenade” lists hexachloroethane and zinc oxide among the hazard-determining components and flags environmental and human-health hazards, including zinc chloride formation and suspicions of carcinogenicity; regulatory listings on that SDS corroborate that these grenades are formulations of HC/ZnO/aluminium compositions commonly called “white smoke” [2] [1].
3. Scientific and military assessments of toxicity and historical use
Decades of toxicology work, including National Research Council reviews, have assessed HC smoke among military obscurants because the HC/ZnO smoke mixture produces dense white smoke used for screening and signaling while raising legitimate toxicity concerns; NRC volumes analyzed hexachloroethane smoke and recommended exposure guidance due to potential adverse effects [4] [5] [6]. Clinical case reports likewise document severe hepatic and pulmonary injury after accidental inhalation of HC/ZnO smoke in training settings [7].
4. Official denials, mixed procurement and shifting military practice
Federal Protective Services publicly denied possessing HC-containing items even as journalists photographed HC-labeled canisters on the ground—an evidentiary tension highlighted in reporting [3] [1]. Separately, the U.S. Army has reported phasing out high-performance HC smoke compositions for some uses because of toxicity, showing a long-standing institutional unease with HC in military service despite commercial availability for other customers [8].
5. Environmental and crowd-control controversies around marketing and use
Advocacy analyses argue that vendors and some law-enforcement purchasers have marketed HC grenades for crowd-control even though HC is not a riot-control chemical; the Union of Concerned Scientists and others documented marketing language and alleged downplayed hazards, and reported deployments into urban and aquatic environments with potential long-lasting ecological impacts [9] [1]. Those critiques frame an implicit agenda among suppliers to expand markets while minimizing regulatory friction.
6. What cannot be claimed from the provided reporting
None of the supplied sources explicitly reference an operation called “Operation Metro Surge,” so there is no direct, sourced assertion here that HC grenades were used in any action by that specific name; the strongest documented linkage in the record provided is between HC grenades and federal actions in Portland and reporting on vendors and SDS evidence that HC grenades were present in protest zones [1] [2] [9]. Where agencies have denied use, the reporting records those denials alongside physical evidence and independent analyses rather than proving intent or policy.
Conclusion: plausibility grounded in evidence, but not a closed case for “Operation Metro Surge”
The convergence of journalist-collected canisters labeled “HC,” manufacturer SDS entries, toxicology reviews, and clinical case reports establishes that HC smoke grenades were present in at least some 2020 federal protest responses and carry documented health and environmental risks [1] [2] [4] [7] [9]. However, without explicit sourcing tying that chemical evidence to an operation named “Operation Metro Surge” in the materials provided, asserting HC use in that specifically named operation would exceed what the current sources substantiate [3] [1].