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2 The impact of nuclear weapons development
While the actual use of nuclear weapons in warfare causes untold destruction, the development of nuclear weapons has also had severe consequences for many communities. Uranium mining, essential for gathering the raw materials required to produce some types of nuclear weapons, exposes miners to exceptionally high levels of radiation, which has resulted in untold numbers of illness and deaths. The uranium used in the bomb dropped on Hiroshima came from mines as far afield as Congo and Canada, with the mining carried out by indigenous people who subsequently suffered from a range of health issues.
The testing of nuclear weapons has also affected millions of individuals around the world. Nuclear fallout and dangerously high radiation levels emanating from nuclear tests affect individuals at the time of the tests and contaminate the areas for years afterwards.
Activity 2
Watch this video of Ibba Bobaker, who represents those affected by French nuclear tests carried out in Algeria between 1961 and 1966. Then answer the question below.
Transcript
- What were some of the consequences of the French nuclear testing in Algeria on the communities living there?
Discussion
- The nuclear tests contaminated the region with unsafe levels of radiation. This has led to serious illnesses such as cancer and leukaemia within the community.
Activity 3
Look at the map below, showing the location of nuclear explosions between 1945 and 2017, then answer the questions below.
- Which countries are responsible for most of the nuclear explosions since 1945?
- What strikes you most about the location of these nuclear explosions?
Discussion
- The United States and Russia/the Soviet Union account for the vast majority of nuclear explosions since 1945. Today, these two countries have by far the largest arsenals of nuclear weapons.
- There are a number of different things that may have struck you looking at this map. You may have remarked on the geographical spread of nuclear explosions, with South America being the only continent where nuclear weapons have not been detonated. You may also have noticed that, outside of Russia, there have been no nuclear explosions in Europe, as the UK and France have tested their nuclear weapons elsewhere, particularly in the Pacific. The map also shows how some specific sites have been subjected to numerous nuclear explosions, which have exposed local populations to extreme and sustained levels of radiation.
Nuclear tests have often been carried out in areas populated by marginal or indigenous communities. While French nuclear tests were carried out in the Sahara Desert in Algeria and then in French Polynesia, the British conducted nuclear tests in Australia, affecting indigenous communities there. In China, nuclear tests have been carried out in Xinjiang (at the Lop Nor test site), affecting the Uighur population disproportionately, while Soviet nuclear tests in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan and American tests in Nevada and the Marshall Islands similarly affected marginalised communities. Clearly, even though only two nuclear weapons have been used in warfare, their development and testing has had devastating effects on individuals and communities.