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184 lines
9.2 KiB
HTML
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<h2>testing</h2>
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<p>Nuclear Weapons Testing Facts
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August 18, 1991</p>
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<p> Nevada Desert Experience
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PO Box 4487
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Las Vegas, NV 89127
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Telephone: 702-646-4814
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FAX: 702-386-5984</p>
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<p> NUCLEAR BOMB AND WEAPONS TESTING FACTS</p>
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<p>The US explodes nuclear bombs underground at the Nevada Test Site
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(NTS), 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The NTS is 1350 square
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miles in size, larger than the state of Rhode Island. The 1863
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Treaty of Ruby Valley recognizes the Western Shoshone Nation's
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right to the land.[1] Despite Shoshone objections, the US
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Department of Energy (DOE) operates the NTS for testing nuclear
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bombs and weapons.</p>
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<p> Nearly 5000 persons work for the nuclear weapons testing program
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in the Las Vegas/NTS areas. The research, develop-ment and
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testing budget for the US in FY 1990 was nearly $2 billion.[2]
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Millions of dollars are now being allocated to assess and begin
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clean-up of the environmental damage at NTS.</p>
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<p> Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico and Lawrence Livermore in
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California design and perfect nuclear weapons for the US testing
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program. Both labs are managed by the University of California.
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The main NTS contractors are EG&G (Edgerton, Germeshausen &
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Grier), its subsidiary, REECo (<span class="PERSON">Reynolds</span> Electrical and Engineering
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Co.), and Raytheon.</p>
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<p> NTS became the location for on-continent nuclear weapons testing
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in 1951. Previous to that the first nuclear bomb test took place
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in the atmosphere in New Mexico.</p>
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<p> Nuclear bombs were dropped in Japan on the populations of
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Between 1946 and late-1962
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atmospheric and underground nuclear tests were conducted by the US
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in the Marshall Islands, Christmas Island and <span class="PERSON">Johnston</span> Atoll in
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the Pacific south of Hawaii, and over the South Atlantic Ocean. In
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addition to Nevada, several underground nuclear weapons tests
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since 1962 have been in Colorado, Mississippi, New Mexico, &
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Amchitka, an Aleutian Island off Alaska's coast.[3]</p>
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<p> Atomic veterans are those men and women in the armed forces who
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were exposed to radiation from these nuclear weapons tests. Some
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flew through radioactive clouds or marched to ground-zero; others
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cleaned ships that had been contaminated, recovered instruments,
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and/or were docked in bombing areas. Civilians who received
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radiation doses where they live are called Downwinders. Congress
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has legislated compensation for atomic veterans, test site workers
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and those Downwinders in Utah and Nevada who have been exposed to
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radiation fallout from the aboveground nuclear weapons tests.
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Congress has not yet authorized the funds for this compensation.</p>
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<p> Nuclear weapons tests are conducted within vertical shafts
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hundreds of feet underground and in horizontal tunnels into
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mountains. According to DOE, the purpose of testing nuclear bombs
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is (1) to check for reliability of stockpiled weapons, (2) to test
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new safety features,(3) to test new weapon designs, and (4) to
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determine the effects of explosion-produced radiation on military
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hardware.</p>
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<p> Radiation ventings occur routinely as part of the clean-up
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process after an underground nuclear weapons test. According to
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DOE controlled ventings present no danger to human health, and no
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radiation leaks occur. There is growing evidence in the
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international scientific community that long-term exposure to low-level radiation results in lowered resistance to certain diseases
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as well as possible genetic changes.</p>
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<p> INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO LIMIT NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING</p>
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<p> The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) of 1963 requires that all
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tests be underground. Public outcry about health effects from
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aboveground tests helped bring about the PTBT. In the prologue of
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this treaty signatory nations agree to continue negotiations to
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end all nuclear weapons tests.[4]</p>
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<p> The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970 requires that nuclear
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nations refrain from transferring nuclear weapon devices and/or
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nuclear weapons technology to non-nuclear nations. It binds non-nuclear nations from developing or obtaining nuclear weapons in
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exchange for a share in the technology of the peaceful uses of
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atomic energy. The NPT requires a commitment by the nuclear
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nations to negotiate an end to the nuclear arms race. The prologue
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to the NPT recalls the earlier PTBT agreement that nuclear nations
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work toward discontinuing nuclear weapons testing altogether.[5]</p>
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<p> In 1995, the NPT nations will meet to decide whether to extend
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the treaty. Many of the non-nuclear nations at the NPT review
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meetings in 1990 made the extension of the Non-Proliferation
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Treaty dependent on progress being made toward an end to all
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nuclear weapons testing, specifically toward a Comprehensive Test
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Ban Treaty.</p>
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<p> The Threshold Test Ban Treaty of 1974 (ratified in 1990), limits
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the explosive power of nuclear weapons tests to 150 kilotons. (The
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Hiroshima bomb was 12 - 15 kilotons.)</p>
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<p> International efforts for a complete ban on nuclear weapons
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testing culminated in an Amendment Conference to the PTBT at the
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UN in January, 1991. The US and United Kingdom (UK) oppose a
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Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and can veto an amendment. In
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spite of this the Conference passed a statement to continue to
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work toward an amendment. The US and UK were the sole "no" votes
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in this effort to end nuclear weapons testing.</p>
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<p> The Global Anti-Nuclear Alliance (GANA), an international
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citizens organization has recently formed to coordinate worldwide
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efforts to end nuclear weapons testing. GANA grew out of the May,
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1990, International Citizens Congress for a Nuclear Test Ban in
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Kazakhstan, USSR.</p>
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<p> OTHER NATIONS TESTING NUCLEAR WEAPONS</p>
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<p> The UK, before 1962, tested nuclear weapons in Australia and
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Christmas Island. Since 1962, the UK has tested weapons with the
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US. In 1990, the UK/US conducted one nuclear weapons test at the
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NTS. The UK is a signatory to both the Partial Test Ban Treaty
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(PTBT) and Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).</p>
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<p> The USSR nuclear weapons testing program, due to citizen
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pressure, may be moved from Kazakhstan to Novaya Zemlya above the
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Arctic Circle. The USSR has initiated moratoriums on nuclear
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weapons tests and has tested only once since October, 1989. The
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USSR has signed both the PTBT and NPT.</p>
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<p> China tested above ground from 1964-1980. The two most recent
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tests were detonated at Lop Nor in 1990. The Chinese will not end
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nuclear weapons tests until the US and USSR have greatly reduced
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their nuclear arsenals and stopped testing. China has not signed
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the PTBT, but tests underground as that treaty requires. Recently
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China has agreed to sign the NPT.</p>
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<p> The French have conducted six nuclear weapons tests on islands
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in the South Pacific thus far in 1991. Some South Pacific
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Islanders link the end of nuclear weapons testing with their
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independence from France. France recently signed the NPT, but has
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not signed the PTBT.</p>
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<p> KNOWN NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS [6 & 7]</p>
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<p>Year of Atmospheric Underground Total 1990 1991
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First Test</p>
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<p>USA-1945 212 721 933 8 4
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USSR-1949 215 499 714 1 -
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FRANCE-1960 48 142 190 4 6
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UK-1952 21 22 43 1 -
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CHINA-1964 22 14 36 2 -
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INDIA-1974 1 1</p>
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<p> Sources:</p>
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<p>[1] Western Shoshone National Council, Western Shoshone Nation
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Newsletter, Vol.I, no.1, 1991.</p>
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<p>[2] International Foundation, Toward a Comprehensive Nuclear
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Warhead Test Ban, 1991. pg. 39.</p>
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<p>[3] U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office,
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Announced US Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through December 1990.
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Springfield, VA: National Technical Information Service, 1990.
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pg. viii.</p>
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<p>[4] National Academy of Sciences-Nuclear Arms Control Washington,
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DC: Natl Academy Press, 1985. pgs. 336-368.</p>
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<p>[5] Ibid, pg. 196.</p>
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<p>[6] "Nuclear Notebook," Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Vol. 47,
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No. 3, April, 1991. pg. 49.</p>
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<p>[7] "Nuclear Notebook," Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Vol. 47,
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No. 4, May, 1991. pg. 49. </p>
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<p>Current as of August 18, 1991
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by Mary H. Lehman
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Nevada Desert Experience,
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</p>
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