If US resumes nuclear weapons testing, it would be dangerous for humanity

Melbourne: US President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing immediately, “on an equal basis” with other countries’ testing programs.

If Trump is referring to the resumption of explosive nuclear testing, this would be an extremely unfortunate, regrettable step by the United States.

It would almost inevitably be followed by tit-for-tat reciprocal announcements by other nuclear-armed states, particularly Russia and China, and cement an accelerating arms race that puts us all in

great jeopardy. It would also create profound risks of radioactive fallout globally. Even if such nuclear tests are conducted underground, this poses a risk in terms of the possible release and venting of radioactive materials, as well as the potential leakage into groundwater.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been signed by 187 states – it’s one of the most widely supported disarmament treaties in the world. The US signed the treaty decades ago, but has yet to ratify it. Nonetheless, it is actually legally bound not to violate the spirit and purpose of the treaty while it’s a signatory.

In earlier years, the purpose of testing was to understand the effects of nuclear weapons – for example, the blast damage at different distances. Understanding the consequences of nuclear weapons helps militaries plan their use and, to some extent, protect their own military equipment and people from the possible use of nuclear weapons by adversaries.

But since the end of the Second World War, states have mostly used testing as part of the development of new weapon designs.

There have been a very large number of tests, more than 2,000, mostly seeking to understand how these new weapons work.

The huge environmental and health problems caused by nuclear testing prompted nations to agree on a moratorium on atmospheric testing for a couple of years in the early 1960s.