What the Resumption of Nuclear Testing in the United States Means for the World

North Korea test launching an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile on March 16, 2023. As independent journalists were not allowed to view this event, it is unknown if the image is verifiable. Photo Credits: Korean Central News Agency, Via Associated Press.

Andrew Larsen, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

Since 1992, the United States has not conducted any tests of nuclear bombs. However, an announcement by President Trump has brought into question whether testing may resume after 32 years. 

While talking to reporters on Air Force One, the President said, “We’ve halted many years ago, but with others doing testing I think it’s appropriate to do so.” 

In the announcement, President Trump said that testing would be carried out by the Department of Defense. The testing of nuclear weapons stopped as a result of international regulations and treaties such as the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, as well as the Limited Test Ban Treaty. While the US has not ratified either of these treaties, it has generally followed the provisions outlined in them. 

Ted Stille is a former member of the Air Force who worked with nuclear weapons for 4 years. Throughout his career, he has worked with various systems surrounding the delivery and propulsion systems used in intercontinental ballistic missiles to transport nuclear weapons to their destinations. Stille first clarified that the recent announcement by the Trump Administration was somewhat misleading. 

“The way that our nuclear arsenal for combat purposes is divided, the Department of Defense does ultimately deploy the weapons or use the weapons,” said Stille. “But day-to-day monitoring and testing of the warheads themselves---the device that creates the chain reaction---those materials are controlled, tested, and verified by the Department of Energy. So, the recent announcement was a bit misleading.” 

When testing nuclear weapons, certain specialized infrastructure must be developed, which can take a long time. Stille identified where the testing would possibly take place, given that pre-existing infrastructure would be used. 

“Traditionally, most of the [underground] testing that the Department of Energy has conducted has been conducted by the Los Alamos laboratories,” said Stille, “and that has been up until the mid ‘90s. Utah is where most of the tests took place. New Mexico saw some of that in the past as well.”

Nuclear war has been a danger on the horizon for the entire world for years. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, students in school had to practice “duck-and-cover” drills. Mr. Whit Whitaker, a substitute teacher at Watauga High School, has first-hand experience with this.

“You had to cover up, usually under the desk, and supposedly you would be safe,” said Whitaker. “We practiced it in different places, even out on the playground, you would run to the building and seek shelter. It was not upsetting because we didn’t understand it, being little kids. I don’t think that was the purpose, to make people afraid. It was to lull. I’m sure the adults knew it wasn’t going to work.”

Nuclear bombs are well-known for their destructive potential. The environment surrounding nuclear testing sites face large amounts of damage following numerous tests. Stille outlined some of these impacts.

“The byproducts of [nuclear testing] are radioactive materials that have very long half lives and have very well documented health impacts for living things, both in the plant and the animal world,” said Stille. “They are prone to spread through the atmosphere, and some of the test bans are very specifically worried about when that radioactive material becomes aerosolized and its potential to spread over the entire globe. Even if the test is inside of the country that is testing the material, the impacts will be felt across the Earth.”

The radioactive materials most often used in modern nuclear weapons, Plutonium-239 and Uranium-235, each have half-lives of about 24000 years and 704 million years. This means that the environment surrounding testing sites potentially remains radioactive for long periods of time following the tests. 

The testing of nuclear bombs has long been taboo, and a resumption of testing by the US, one of the few nuclear nations in the world, could have far reaching political impacts. Stille explains that a nuclear test by the US would not be about gathering data, but rather it would be about sending a message to the world.

“We have a vast library of information about the way that nuclear explosions take place,” said Stille. “And with the sophistication of computer models and computing power today, it is pretty clear, and it has been testified by the Department of Energy in front of Congress, that there is not as much to gain from testing nuclear weapons as there is to lose.”

Because there is little to gain from testing on the technical side, Stille explains that this is likely a political move by the Trump Administration.

“We should all look at this as posturing,” said Stille. “The current administration feels either threatened or compelled to have a show of force amongst our nuclear capable allies, Russia, China, in particular, to show them that we do, in fact, have an intent to use these if necessary.”

Some may worry that, as a result of new nuclear tests as well as current conflicts around the world, a new Cold War may occur, leading to a return of the fear of nuclear war throughout the country. 

“I really do believe that the scientists and policymakers that would ultimately make these decisions, both in our country and in other countries, understand the ramifications of nuclear weapons,” said Stille. “This is not the same as exchanging artillery fire or even kinetic missile fire. This is a conversation of a much more grave degree. I think the evidence of that is that we have not tested nuclear weapons since the mid ‘90s. And that is without the threat of international sanctions or ramifications. I think that we should be confident that that would continue.”