1.
STATES HAVE GONE ON TO DEVELOP WEAPONS THAT DWARF THE POWER OF THE BOMBS DROPPED ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI.
At the height of the Cold War, thousands of U.S. and Soviet ballistic missiles on high alert were capable of delivering up to 10 independently targeted warheads at a time, each one twenty times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Though decades of arms control agreements have slowly reduced the size of their arsenals, nuclear weapon States still possess the capability to destroy each other many times over.
NUCLEAR WEAPON STATES STILL POSSESS THE CAPABILITY TO DESTROY EACH OTHER MANY TIMES OVER.
The largest nuclear explosion in history was the 1961 Soviet “Tsar Bomba” test, which measured more than 50 megatons (3,800 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb). To generate an explosion of this magnitude using dynamite, it would require 50 billion kilograms (over 110 billion pounds) of TNT, which is more than the weight of all the cargo that has passed through London’s Heathrow airport in the past 40 years. Expressed in volume, this would amount to 18 blocks of TNT each as large as the Empire State building.
“As the bomb fell over Hiroshima and exploded, we saw an entire city disappear. I wrote in my log the words: "My God, what have we done?"
Robert Lewis, pilot of the plane that dropped the 'Little Boy' bomb, April 1947
India misused plutonium extracted from its CIRUS heavy water reactor, supplied for energy purposes only, for conducting its first nuclear explosion 'Smiling Buddah' in 1974.
India’s 1974 nuclear explosion used plutonium extracted from its CIRUS heavy water reactor, supplied for energy purposes only
(This misuse led to sanctions on India and the creation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group). Although it has now developed centrifuge enrichment capability, India claims that all HEU is intended for naval propulsion. To cope with its shortage of uranium reserves, India hopes to develop reactors that breed plutonium and to move eventually to a thorium fuel cycle.
Dust raised by the Pakistan I test on 28 May 1998.
Pakistan drew on the expertise of A. Q. Khan; and his procurement network to develop centrifuge enrichment capability. Since Pakistan did not initially have plutonium production capability, it is assumed that HEU was used for the tests it conducted in 1998. However, Pakistan’s plutonium production reactor at Khushab came online in 1998. These heavy water reactors will produce plutonium and tritium, key elements for thermonuclear weapons.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) separated plutonium for weapons from its Yongbyong reactor after announcing its withdrawal from the NPT in 2002.
2. Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The Treaty represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States. Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. On 11 May 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely. A total of 191 States have joined the Treaty, including the five nuclear-weapon States. More countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, a testament to the Treaty’s significance.
Status of the Treaty
The provisions of the Treaty, particularly article VIII, paragraph 3, envisage a review of the operation of the Treaty every five years, a provision which was reaffirmed by the States parties at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference.
To further the goal of non-proliferation and as a confidence-building measure between States parties, the Treaty establishes a safeguards system under the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Safeguards are used to verify compliance with the Treaty through inspections conducted by the IAEA. The Treaty promotes cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear technology and equal access to this technology for all States parties, while safeguards prevent the diversion of fissile material for weapons use.
General Assembly Resolutions
A/RES/66/33 (2011)
A/RES/61/70 (2006)
A/RES/56/24 (2001)
The 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, held in New York from 27 April to 22 May and presided over by Ambassador Taous Feroukhi (Algeria), ended without the adoption of a consensus substantive outcome. After a successful 2010 Review Conference at which States parties agreed to a final document which included conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions, including the implementation of the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East, the 2015 outcome constitutes a setback for the strengthened review process instituted to ensure accountability with respect to activities under the three pillars of the Treaty as part of the package in support of the indefinite extension of the Treaty in 1995.
Neither India nor Pakistan joined the NPT. The Indian establishment was divided on the matter. New Delhi was committed to disarmament objectives, but there was concern that the absence of security guarantees would make India vulnerable to attack (Perkovich, 134). Many also saw the treaty as discriminatory (Ibid). In the end, the Indian government chose not to accede to the NPT (Ibid, 145). Pakistan initially supported the treaty, but opted out when India did. In short, Pakistan wanted to retain the option to go nuclear if India attained nuclear weapons (Chakma, 270). As in India, many in Pakistan viewed the treaty as discriminatory. India and Pakistan therefore remain de facto, rather than de jure, nuclear-weapon states.
3. Basic Terms:
Atom: The smallest particle of matter that can have the properties of a chemical element. Atoms
Radiation riskare composed of protons (positively charged particles), electrons (negatively charged particles), and neutrons (uncharged particles). Protons and neutrons are heavy particles that are found in an atom's nucleus (the core). Electrons, which are much smaller and lighter, orbit the nucleus
Fission: The splitting of the nucleus of an element into fragments. Heavy elements such as uranium or plutonium release energy when fissioned.
Fusion: The combining of two nuclei to form a heavier one. Fusion of the isotopes of light elements such as hydrogen or lithium gives a large release of energy.
Radiation: Radiation is any energy that is emitted from some source and travels through space. This includes things such as light, sound, and heat. The radiation typically referred to when discussing nuclear weapons or nuclear energy is ionizing radiation, which comes from unstable atoms. To become stable, unstable atoms emit radiation in the form of particles, such as alpha and beta radiation, or in the form of electromagnetic waves, such as gamma radiation and X-rays. Source:
http://www.orau.gov/reacts/define.htm
Alpha Radiation: Radiation consisting of helium nuclei (atomic wt. 4, atomic number 2) that are discharged by radioactive disintegration of some heavy elements, including uranium-238, radium-226, and plutonium-239.
Beta Radiation: Radiation consisting of electrons or positrons emitted from atoms at speeds approaching the speed of light.
Gamma Radiation: Electromagnetic waves released during radioactive decay that can ionize atoms and split chemical bonds.
Rad: A unit of absorbed dose of radiation defined as deposition of 100 ergs of energy per gram of tissue. It amounts to approximately one ionization per cubic micron.
Chain Reaction: The process of nuclear fission in which the neutrons released trigger other nuclear fission reactions at the same or greater rate. In a nuclear weapon, an extremely rapid multiplying chain reaction causes an explosive release of energy. In a nuclear reactor the pace of the chain reaction is controlled to produce heat (in a power reactor) or large quantities of neutrons (in a research or production reactor)
Critical Mass: The amount of a fissile substance that will allow a self-sustaining chain reaction. The amount depends both on the properties of the fissile element and on the shape of the mass.
Atom Bomb: A nuclear bomb whose energy comes from the fission of uranium or plutonium
Hydrogen Bomb: A nuclear weapon that derives its energy from the fusion of hydrogen. Also known as a thermonuclear weapon.