By Em Cochran
Nuclear weapons have sparked fascination and often fear in Americans since before the Cold War. From comics and cartoons of nuclear superheroes to the nuances of the current conflict in Ukraine, American media has explored the topic in depth. Despite this myriad of information, the basic history of nuclear weapons is sometimes forgotten.
Two types of nuclear bombs exist–– fission and fusion weapons. While fission nuclear weapons split an atom’s nucleus into smaller nuclei, fusion nuclear weapons, also called hydrogen bombs, combine smaller nuclei into a larger nucleus to produce far more energy. The mass destruction caused by nuclear weapons and the associated nuclear waste can be harmful to both humans and the environment.
Nuclear weapons have been around for eighty years. The U.S.-led Manhattan Project, an initiative to develop the first atomic weapons, began in 1942 as an effort by the Allied powers to defeat Nazi Germany during World War II. In July 1945, the first-ever nuclear test occurred in the Alamogordo Desert of New Mexico. One month later, the United States dropped two nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing at least 214,000 people according to BBC.
Within twenty years of the Manhattan Project, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and China had all tested nuclear weapons. Today, nine countries possess nuclear weapons and sometimes conduct bomb tests.
Nuclear weapon testing has led to significant environmental damage. According to the Arms Control Association, a process called nuclear fallout, which is when nuclear particles spread from the testing ground, can sometimes mix with soil and these particles can circulate around in the atmosphere for years. Such particles are radioactive and cause cell damage in living organisms like humans and animals, oftentimes resulting in death.
One example of a testing site is Bikini Atoll, located in the Marshall Islands. During WWII, Japan used the Marshall Islands to guard against American invasion. After WWII, the U.S. chose the Marshall Islands, specifically Bikini Atoll, as a testing site for its nuclear weapons. After relocating Bikini’s population to nearby islands, the U.S. began to test nuclear weapons on Bikini Atoll. In 1954, despite knowing that the bomb would be dangerous to people living on nearby islands, like Niedenthal, the U.S. tested the first hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll. The explosion had severe and lasting effects on the environment and human health. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the explosion had a destructive force equal to 15 million tonnes of TNT. The explosion subjugated unsuspecting civilians of nearby islands to colossal amounts of radiation and ash – which they termed “Bikini snow”. Bikini Atoll is just one example of the harm of nuclear testing and nuclear power on humans and the environment.
As the conflict in Ukraine escalates, it is imperative that global leaders remain mindful of the severe consequences that weaponry, especially types as destructive as nuclear, pose not just to human lives, but to ecosystems. Nuclear warfare is too destructive to be used in war or in any situation and will require huge cleanup efforts that distract from other environmental crises. We cannot prioritize power and strength to dominate in times of war.
Bibliography
ICAN. 2022. History of Nuclear Weapons. [online] Available at: <https://www.icanw.org/nuclear_weapons_history> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
US EPA. n.d. Radioactive Fallout From Nuclear Weapons Testing | US EPA. [online] Available at: <https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactive-fallout-nuclear-weapons-testing> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
Kimball, D., 2020. The Nuclear Testing Tally | Arms Control Association. [online] Armscontrol.org. Available at: <https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/nucleartesttally> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
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