By LISA ORKIN EMMANUEL
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

MIAMI -- A toxicologist testified Friday that tear gas would not have had a long-lasting effect on demonstrators who were sprayed outside the home of Elian Gonzalez's relatives during the raid to seize the boy and return him to Cuba.

The testimony by toxicologist Bryan Ballantyne came during a trial in which 13 people are seeking up to $250,000 from the federal government for injuries they allegedly suffered during the April 2000 raid.

Ballantyne said tear gas is a short-term irritant and that adverse effects from exposure are very limited and small in number. But he added that effects may differ due to certain variables, including the range at which the gas is sprayed, the amount sprayed and environmental factors.

Also Friday, plaintiff Sandra Maria Cobas started sobbing loudly on the witness stand as she watched a video of the raid. The court took a short break to allow her time to calm down.

"It reminds me of everything that happened," Cobas said.

Elian survived a shipwreck that killed his mother and 10 others fleeing Cuba in November 1999. His Miami relatives balked at returning him to his father in Cuba.

The Easter weekend raid snatched the screaming 6-year-old boy from the home. Father and son headed home to instant celebrity and visits with Cuban President Fidel Castro.