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| Nuclear weapons |
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| Treaties |
The first nuclear weapon was detonated as a test by the United States at the Trinity site on July 16, 1945, with a yield approximately equivalent to 20 kilotons of TNT. The first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", was tested at the Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands on November 1, 1952 (local date), also by the United States. The largest nuclear weapon ever tested was the "Tsar Bomba" of the Soviet Union at Novaya Zemlya on October 30, 1961, with the largest yield ever seen (as of December 2013), an estimated 50–58 megatons.
In 1963, three (UK, US, Soviet Union) of the four nuclear states and many non-nuclear states signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, pledging to refrain from testing nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, underwater, or in outer space. The treaty permitted underground nuclear testing. France continued atmospheric testing until 1974, and China continued until 1980. Neither has signed the treaty.[1]
Underground tests in the United States continued until 1992 (its last nuclear test), the Soviet Union until 1990, the United Kingdom until 1991, and both China and France until 1996. In signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996, these states have pledged to discontinue all nuclear testing. However, as of December 2013, the treaty has not yet entered into force because of failure to be signed/ratified by eight specific countries. Non-signatories India and Pakistan last tested nuclear weapons in 1998.
The most recent nuclear test occurred in February 2013 in North Korea. In January 2013, North Korea had announced that it planned to conduct further tests involving rockets that can carry satellites as well as nuclear warheads "to strike and attack the United States".[2]
Contents
Types
- Atmospheric testing designates explosions that take place in the atmosphere. Generally these have occurred as devices detonated on towers, balloons, barges, islands, or dropped from airplanes, and also those which are only buried far enough to intentionally create a surface-breaking crater. Nuclear explosions that are close enough to the ground to draw dirt and debris into their mushroom cloud can generate large amounts of nuclear fallout due to irradiation of the debris. This definition of atmospheric follows that used in the Limited Test Ban Treaty, which banned this class of testing along with exoatmospheric and underwater.
- Underground testing refers to nuclear tests conducted under the surface of the earth, at varying depths. Underground nuclear testing made up the majority of nuclear tests by the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War; other forms of nuclear testing were banned by the Limited Test Ban Treaty in 1963. True underground tests are intended to be fully contained and emit a negligible amount of fallout. Unfortunately these nuclear tests do occasionally "vent" to the surface, producing from nearly none to considerable amounts of radioactive debris as a consequence. Underground testing almost by definition result in seismic activity which magnitude depends on the yield of the nuclear device and the composition of the medium it is detonated in, and generally result in the creation of subsidence craters.[3] In 1976, the United States and the USSR agreed to limit the maximum yield of underground tests to 150 kt with the Threshold Test Ban Treaty.
- Exoatmospheric testing refers to nuclear tests conducted above the atmosphere. The test devices are lifted on rockets. These high altitude nuclear explosions can generate a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (NEMP) when they occur in the ionosphere, and charged particles resulting from the blast can cross hemispheres following geomagnetic lines of force to create an auroral display.
- Underwater testing results from nuclear devices being detonated underwater, usually moored to a ship or a barge (which is subsequently destroyed by the explosion). Tests of this nature have usually been conducted to evaluate the effects of nuclear weapons against naval vessels (such as in Operation Crossroads), or to evaluate potential sea-based nuclear weapons (such as nuclear torpedoes or depth-charges). Underwater tests close to the surface can disperse large amounts of radioactive particles in water and steam, contaminating nearby ships or structures, though they generally do not create fallout other than very local to the explosion.
Salvo Tests
Another way to classify nuclear tests are by the number of explosions which constitute the test. The treaty definition of a salvo test is:"In conformity with treaties between the United States and the Soviet Union, a salvo is defined, for multiple explosions for peaceful purposes, as two or more separate explosions where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed 5 seconds and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points, and the total length does not exceed 40 kilometers. For nuclear weapon tests, a salvo is defined as two or more underground nuclear explosions conducted at a test site within an area delineated by a circle having a diameter of two kilometers and conducted within a total period of time of 0.1 second."[4]
The USSR has exploded up to eight devices in a single salvo test; Pakistan's second and last official test exploded four different devices. Almost all lists in the literature are lists of tests; in the lists in Wikipedia, (for example, Operation Cresset has separate items for Cremino and Caerphilly, which together constitute a single test) the lists are of explosions.
Purpose
Separately from these designations, nuclear tests are also often categorized by the purpose of the test itself.- Weapons-related tests are designed to garner information about how (and if) the weapons themselves work. Some serve to develop and validate a specific weapon type. Others test experimental concepts or are physics experiments meant to gain fundamental knowledge of the processes and materials involved in nuclear detonations.
- Weapons effects tests are designed to gain information about the effects of the weapons on structures, equipment, organisms and the environment. They are mainly used to assess and improve survivability to nuclear explosions in civilian and military contexts, tailor weapons to their targets, and develop the tactics of nuclear warfare.
- Safety experiments are designed to study the behavior of weapons in simulated accident scenarios. In particular, they are used to verify that a (significant) nuclear detonation cannot happen by accident. They include one-point safety tests and simulations of storage and transportation accidents.
- Nuclear test detection experiments are designed to improve the capabilities to detect, locate, and identify nuclear detonations, in particular to monitor compliance with test-ban treaties. In the United States these tests are associated with Operation Vela Uniform before the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty stopped all nuclear testing among signatories.
- Peaceful nuclear explosions were conducted to investigate non-military applications of nuclear explosives. In the United States these were performed under the umbrella name of Operation Plowshare.
Alternatives to full-scale testing
Critical mass experiments determine the quantity of fissile material required for criticality with a variety of fissile material compositions, densities, shapes, and reflectors. They can be sub-critical or super-critical, in which case significant radiation fluxes can be produced. This type of test resulted in several criticality accidents.
Sub-critical (or cold) tests are any type of tests involving nuclear materials and possibly high-explosives (like those mentioned above) that purposefully result in no yield. The name refers to the lack of creation of a critical mass of fissile material. They are the only type of tests allowed under the interpretation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty tacitly agreed to by the major atomic powers.[6][7] Sub-critical tests continue to be performed by the United States, Russia, and the People's Republic of China, at least.[8][9]
Subcritical test executed by the United States include:[10][11][12]
| Name | Date Time (UT[13]) | Location | Elevation + Height | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A series of 50 Tests | January 1, 1960 | Los Alamos National Lab Test Area 49 35.82289°N 106.30216°W | 2,183 metres (7,162 ft) - 20 metres (66 ft) | Series of 50 tests during US/USSR joint nuclear test ban.[14] |
| Odyssey | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | ||
| Trumpet | NTS Area U1a-102D 37.01099°N 116.05848°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | ||
| Kismet | March 1, 1995 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 293 metres (961 ft) | Kismet was a proof of concept for modern hydronuclear tests; it did not contain any SNM (Special Nuclear Material - Plutonium or Uranium). |
| Rebound | July 2, 1997 10:--:-- | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 293 metres (961 ft) | Provided information on the behavior of new plutonium alloys compressed by high pressure shock waves; same as Stagecoach but for the age of the alloys. |
| Holog | September 18, 1997 | NTS Area U1a.101A 37.01036°N 116.05888°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Holog and Clarinet may have switched locations. |
| Stagecoach | March 25, 1998 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Provided information on the behavior of aged (up to 40 years) plutonium alloys compressed by high pressure shock waves. |
| Bagpipe | September 26, 1998 | NTS Area U1a.101B 37.01021°N 116.05886°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Cimarron | December 11, 1998 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Plutonium surface ejecta studies. |
| Clarinet | February 9, 1999 | NTS Area U1a.101C 37.01003°N 116.05898°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Holog and Clarinet may have switched places on the map. |
| Oboe | September 30, 1999 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Oboe 2 | November 9, 1999 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Oboe 3 | February 3, 2000 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Thoroughbred | March 22, 2000 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Plutonium surface ejecta studies, followup to Cimarron. |
| Oboe 4 | April 6, 2000 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Oboe 5 | August 18, 2000 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Oboe 6 | December 14, 2000 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Oboe 8 | September 26, 2001 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Oboe 7 | December 13, 2001 | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Oboe 9 | June 7, 2002 21:46:-- | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Mario | August 29, 2002 19:00:-- | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Plutonium surface studies (optical analysis of spall). Used wrought plutonium from Rocky Flats. |
| Rocco | September 26, 2002 19:00:-- | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Plutonium surface studies (optical analysis of spall), followup to Mario. Used cast plutonium from Los Alamos. |
| Piano | September 19, 2003 20:44:-- | NTS Area U1a.102C 37.01095°N 116.05877°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | |
| Armando | May 25, 2004 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 290 metres (950 ft) | Plutonium spall measurements using x-ray analysis. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFUUE5shMLc |
| Step Wedge | April 1, 2005 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | April–May 2005, a series of mini-hydronuclear experiments interpreting Armando results. |
| Unicorn | August 31, 2006 01:00:-- | NTS Area U6c 36.98663°N 116.0439°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | "…confirm nuclear performance of the W88 warhead with a newly-manufactured pit." Early pit studies. |
| Thermos | January 1, 2007 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | Feb-6 thru May 3, 2007, 12 mini-hydronuclear experiments in thermos-sized flasks. |
| Bacchus | September 16, 2010 | NTS Area U1a.05? 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | |
| Barolo A | December 1, 2010 | NTS Area U1a.05? 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | |
| Barolo B | February 2, 2011 | NTS Area U1a.05? 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | |
| Castor | September 1, 2012 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | Not even a subcrit, contained no plutonium; a dress rehearsal for Pollux. |
| Pollux | December 5, 2012 | NTS Area U1a 37.01139°N 116.05983°W | 1,222 metres (4,009 ft) - 190 metres (620 ft) | A subcritical test with a scaled down warhead mockup. A video of this test, quite exciting as these tests go, is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGf4-ZOjyVY |
History
The United States conducted six atomic tests before the Soviet Union developed their first atomic bomb (RDS-1) and tested it on August 29, 1949. Neither country had very many atomic weapons to spare at first, and so testing was relatively infrequent (when the U.S. used two weapons for Operation Crossroads in 1946, they were detonating over 20% of their current arsenal). However, by the 1950s the United States had established a dedicated test site on its own territory (Nevada Test Site) and was also using a site in the Marshall Islands (Pacific Proving Grounds) for extensive atomic and nuclear testing.
The early tests were used primarily to discern the military effects of atomic weapons (Crossroads had involved the effect of atomic weapons on a navy, and how they functioned underwater) and to test new weapon designs. During the 1950s, these included new hydrogen bomb designs, which were tested in the Pacific, and also new and improved fission weapon designs. The Soviet Union also began testing on a limited scale, primarily in Kazakhstan. During the later phases of the Cold War, though, both countries developed accelerated testing programs, testing many hundreds of bombs over the last half of the 20th century.
Almost all new nuclear powers have announced their possession of nuclear weapons with a nuclear test. The only acknowledged nuclear power which claims never to have conducted a test was South Africa (see Vela Incident), which has since dismantled all of its weapons. Israel is widely thought to possess a sizable nuclear arsenal, though it has never tested, unless they were involved in Vela. Experts disagree on whether states can have reliable nuclear arsenals—especially ones using advanced warhead designs, such as hydrogen bombs and miniaturized weapons—without testing, though all agree that it is very unlikely to develop significant nuclear innovations without testing. One other approach is to use supercomputers to conduct "virtual" testing, but codes need to be validated against test data.
There have been many attempts to limit the number and size of nuclear tests; the most far-reaching is the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996, which has not, as of 2013, been ratified by eight of the "Annex 2 countries" required for it to take effect, including the United States. Nuclear testing has since become a controversial issue in the United States, with a number of politicians saying that future testing might be necessary to maintain the aging warheads from the Cold War. Because nuclear testing is seen as furthering nuclear arms development, many are opposed to future testing as an acceleration of the arms race.
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The first atomic test, "Trinity", took place on July 16, 1945.
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The Sedan test of 1962 was an experiment by the United States in using nuclear weapons to excavate large amounts of earth.
Nuclear testing by country
Main articles: List of nuclear weapons tests and France and weapons of mass destruction
United States: 1,054 tests by official count (involving at least 1,149 devices). 219 were atmospheric tests as defined by the CTBT. These tests include 904 at the Nevada Test Site, 106 at the Pacific Proving Grounds and other locations in the Pacific, 3 in the South Atlantic Ocean, and 17 other tests taking place in Amchitka Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, New Mexico and Nevada outside the NNSS (see Nuclear weapons and the United States
for details). 24 tests are classified as British tests held at the NTS.
There are 35 Plowshare detonations and 7 Vela Uniform tests; 88 tests
were safety experiments and 4 were transportation/storage tests.[16] Link to United States' table data
Soviet Union: 715 tests (involving 969 devices) by official count, plus 13 unnumbered test failures. [17][18] Most were at their Southern Test Area at Semipalatinsk Test Site and the Northern Test Area at Novaya Zemlya. Others include rocket tests and peaceful-use explosions at various sites in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Link to Soviet Union's table data
United Kingdom: 45 tests (21 in Australian territory, including three at the Montebello Islands, nine in mainland South Australia at Maralinga and Emu Field, some at Christmas Island (Kirimati) in the Pacific Ocean, plus 24 in the United States at the Nevada Test Site as part of joint test series)[19] 43 safety tests (the Vixen series) are not included in that number, though safety experiments by other countries are. Link to Great Britain's summary table
France: 210 tests by official count (50 atmospheric, 160 underground[20]), four atomic atmospheric tests at C.E.S.M. near Reggane, 13 atomic underground tests at C.E.M.O. near In Ekker in the French Algerian Sahara, and nuclear atmospheric and underground tests at and around Fangataufa and Moruroa Atolls in French Polynesia.
Four of the In Ekker tests are counted as peaceful use, as they were
reported as part of the CET's APEX (Application pacifique des
expérimentations nucléaires), and given alternate names. Link to France's summary table
China: 45 tests (23 atmospheric and 22 underground), at Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base, in Malan, Xinjiang[21] There are two additional unnumbered failed tests. Link to China's summary table
India: six underground explosions (including the first one in 1974), at Pokhran. Link to India's summary table
Pakistan: seven underground explosions at Ras Koh Hills and the Chagai District.[22] Link to Pakistan's summary table
North Korea: three underground tests at the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site. Link to North Korea's summary table
From the first nuclear test in 1945 until tests by Pakistan in 1998, there was never a period of more than 22 months with no nuclear testing. June 1998 to October 2006 was the longest period since 1945 with no acknowledged nuclear tests.
A summary table of all the nuclear testing that has happened since 1945 is here: Worldwide nuclear testing counts and summary.
Treaties against testing
There are many proposed anti-nuclear explosion treaties, such as the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Most of these treaties were passed because scientists in many different countries noticed spikes in radiation levels in civilian areas[citation needed]. Nuclear testing involving humans also contributed to the formation of the treaties, and examples can be seen in the following articles:The Partial Nuclear Test Ban treaty makes it illegal to detonate any nuclear explosion anywhere except underground, in order to reduce atmospheric fallout. Most countries have signed and ratified the Partial Nuclear Test Ban which went into effect in October 1963. Of the nuclear states, France, China, and North Korea have never signed the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.[23]
The 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions everywhere, including underground. For that purpose, the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization is building an international monitoring system with 337 facilities located all over the globe. 85% of these facilities are already operational.[24] As of May 2012, the CTBT has been signed by 183 States, of which 157 have also ratified. However, for the Treaty to enter into force it needs to be ratified by 44 specific nuclear technology-holder countries. These "Annex 2 States" participated in the negotiations on the CTBT between 1994 and 1996 and possessed nuclear power or research reactors at that time. The ratification of eight Annex 2 states is still missing: China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the United States have signed but not ratified the Treaty; India, North Korea and Pakistan have not signed it.[25]
The following is a list of the treaties applicable to nuclear testing:
| Name | Agreement Date | In Force Date | In Effect Today | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unilateral USSR ban | March 31, 1958 | March 31, 1958 | no | USSR unilaterally stops testing provided the west does as well. |
| Bilateral testing ban | August 2, 1958 | August 2, 1958 | no | USA agrees; ban begins on 31 October 1958, 3 November 1958 for the Soviets, and lasts until abrogated by a USSR test on 1 September 1961. |
| Antarctic Treaty System | December 1, 1959 | June 23, 1961 | yes | Bans testing of all kinds in Antarctica. |
| Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) | August 5, 1962 | October 10, 1963 | yes | Ban on all but underground testing. |
| Outer Space Treaty | January 27, 1967 | October 10, 1967 | yes | Bans testing on the moon and other celestial bodies. |
| Treaty of Tlatelolco | February 14, 1967 | April 22, 1968 | yes | Bans testing in South America and the Caribbean Sea Islands. |
| Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty | January 1, 1968 | March 5, 1970 | yes | Bans the proliferation of nuclear technology to non-nuclear nations. |
| Seabed Arms Control Treaty | February 11, 1971 | May 18, 1972 | yes | Bans use of nuclear weapons in international waters. |
| Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I) | January 1, 1972 | no | A five year ban on installing launchers. | |
| Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty | May 26, 1972 | August 3, 1972 | no | Restricts ABM development; additional protocol added in 1974; abrogated by the USA in 2002. |
| Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War | June 22, 1973 | June 22, 1973 | yes | Promises to make all efforts to promote security and peace. |
| Threshold Test Ban Treaty | July 1, 1974 | December 11, 1990 | yes | Prohibits higher than 150 kt for underground testing. |
| Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty (PNET) | January 1, 1976 | December 11, 1990 | yes | Prohibits higher than 150 kt, or 1500kt in aggregate, testing for peaceful purposes. |
| Moon Treaty | January 1, 1979 | January 1, 1984 | no | Bans use and emplacement of nuclear weapons on the moon and other celestial bodies. |
| Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty (SALT II) | June 18, 1979 | no | Limits strategic arms. Kept but not ratified by the US, abrogated with SALT I in 2002. | |
| Treaty of Rarotonga | August 6, 1985 | ? | Bans nuclear weapons in South Pacific Ocean and islands. US never ratified. | |
| Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) | December 8, 1987 | June 1, 1988 | yes | Eliminates Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs). Implemented by 1 June 1991. |
| Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe | November 19, 1990 | July 17, 1992 | yes | Bans categories of weapons, including conventional, from Europe. Russia notified signatories of intent to suspend, 14 July 2007. |
| Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I (START I) | July 31, 1991 | December 5, 1994 | no | 35-40% reduction in ICBMs with verification. Treaty expired 5 December 2009. |
| Treaty on Open Skies | March 24, 1992 | January 1, 2002 | yes | Allows for unencumbered surveillance over all signatories. |
| US unilateral testing moratorium | October 2, 1992 | October 2, 1992 | no | G. W. Bush declares unilateral ban on nuclear testing. Extended several times, not yet abrogated. |
| Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) | January 3, 1993 | January 1, 2002 | no | Deep reductions in ICBMs. Abrogated by Russia in 2002 in retaliation of US abrogation of ABM Treaty. |
| Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Bangkok) | December 15, 1995 | March 28, 1997 | yes | Bans nuclear weapons from southeast Asia. |
| African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty (Pelindaba Treaty) | January 1, 1996 | July 16, 2009 | yes | Bans nuclear weapons in Africa. |
| Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) | September 10, 1996 | yes (effectively) | Bans all nuclear testing, peaceful and otherwise. Strong detection and verification mechanism (CTBTO). US has signed and adheres to the treaty, though has not ratified it. | |
| Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions (SORT, Treaty of Moscow) | May 24, 2002 | June 1, 2003 | no | Reduces warheads to 1700-2200 in ten years. Expired, replaced by START II. |
| START I treaty renewal | April 8, 2010 | January 26, 2011 | yes | Same provisions as START I. |
Compensation for victims
Over 500 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests were conducted at various sites around the world from 1945 to 1980. As public awareness and concern mounted over the possible health hazards associated with exposure to the nuclear fallout, various studies were done to assess the extent of the hazard. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/ National Cancer Institute study claims that nuclear fallout might have led to approximately 11,000 excess deaths, most caused by thyroid cancer linked to exposure to iodine-131.[26]- United States: As of March 2009, the U.S. is the only nation that compensates nuclear test victims. Since the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, more than $1.38 billion in compensation has been approved. The money is going to people who took part in the tests, notably at the Nevada Test Site, and to others exposed to the radiation.[27][28]
- France: In March 2009, the French Government offered to compensate victims for the first time and legislation is being drafted which would allow payments to people who suffered health problems related to the tests. The payouts would be available to victims' descendants and would include Algerians, who were exposed to nuclear testing in the Sahara in 1960. However, victims say the eligibility requirements for compensation are too narrow.[27]
- United Kingdom: There is no formal British government compensation program. However, nearly 1,000 veterans of Christmas Island nuclear tests in the 1950s are engaged in legal action against the Ministry of Defense for negligence. They say they suffered health problems and were not warned of potential dangers before the experiments.[27]
- Russia: Decades later, Russia offered compensation to veterans who were part of the 1954 Totsk test. However, there was no compensation to civilians sickened by the Totsk test. Anti-nuclear groups say there has been no government compensation for other nuclear tests.[27]
- China: China has undertaken highly secretive atomic tests in remote deserts in a Central Asian border province. Anti-nuclear activists say there is no known government program for compensating victims.[27]
Milestone nuclear explosions
The following list is of milestone nuclear explosions. In addition to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the first nuclear test of a given weapon type for a country is included, and tests which were otherwise notable (such as the largest test ever). All yields (explosive power) are given in their estimated energy equivalents in kilotons of TNT (see TNT equivalent). Putative tests (like Vela Incident) have not been included.| Date | Name | Yield (kT) | Country | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-07-16 | Trinity | 18–20 | USA | First fission device test, first plutonium implosion detonation |
| 1945-08-06 | Little Boy | 12–18 | USA | Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, first detonation of an enriched uranium gun-type device, first use of a nuclear device in military combat. |
| 1945-08-09 | Fat Man | 18–23 | USA | Bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, second and last use of a nuclear device in military combat. |
| 1949-08-29 | RDS-1 | 22 | USSR | First fission weapon test by the USSR |
| 1952-10-03 | Hurricane | 25 | UK | First fission weapon test by the UK |
| 1952-11-01 | Ivy Mike | 10,400 | USA | First cryogenic fusion fuel "staged" thermonuclear weapon, primarily a test device and not weaponized |
| 1952-11-16 | Ivy King | 500 | USA | Largest pure-fission weapon ever tested |
| 1953-08-12 | Joe 4 | 400 | USSR | First fusion weapon test by the USSR (not "staged") |
| 1954-03-01 | Castle Bravo | 15,000 | USA | First dry fusion fuel "staged" thermonuclear weapon; a serious nuclear fallout accident occurred |
| 1955-11-22 | RDS-37 | 1,600 | USSR | First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by the USSR (deployable) |
| 1957-11-08 | Grapple X | 1,800 | UK | First (successful) "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by the UK |
| 1957-05-31 | Orange Herald | 720 | UK | Largest boosted fission weapon ever tested. Intended as a fallback "in megaton range" in case British thermonuclear development failed. |
| 1960-02-13 | Gerboise Bleue | 70 | France | First fission weapon test by France |
| 1961-10-31 | Tsar Bomba | 57,000 | USSR | Largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested—scaled down from its initial 100 Mt design by 50% |
| 1964-10-16 | 596 | 22 | PR China | First fission weapon test by the People's Republic of China |
| 1967-06-17 | Test No. 6 | 3,300 | PR China | First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by the People's Republic of China |
| 1968-08-24 | Canopus | 2,600 | France | First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by France |
| 1974-05-18 | Smiling Buddha | 12 | India | First fission nuclear explosive test by India |
| 1998-05-11 | Pokhran-II | 60[29] | India | First potential fusion/boosted weapon test by India; first deployable fission weapon test by India |
| 1998-05-28 | Chagai-I | 40[30] | Pakistan | First fission weapon (boosted) test by Pakistan |
| 1998-05-30 | Chagai-II | 20[30] | Pakistan | Second fission weapon (boosted) test by Pakistan |
| 2006-10-09 | 2006 North Korean nuclear test | ~1 | North Korea | First fission plutonium-based device tested by North Korea; likely resulted as a fizzle |
| 2009-05-25 | 2009 North Korean nuclear test | 2-6 | North Korea | First successful fission device tested by North Korea |
| 2013-02-16 | 2013 North Korean nuclear test | 7 | North Korea | Last nuclear test from Earth |
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