Some US citizens are already concerned about the growing potential of Donald Trump being reelected as the US President, especially after the debate where US President Joe Biden fumbled his responses. Here's another thing to look forward to when Trump wins: Nuke testing might be back on the table.
Former Trump Advisors Wants to Test Nukes
Nuclear warfare is never something to wish for, but powerful countries like the US have nukes in their arsenal just in case they get plunged into war as potential rival countries have them as well. For some, however, having them is not enough, and suggested testing the nukes.
Such people include Donald Trump's former advisor, Robert C. O'Brien, who served as the former President's US national Security Advisor between 2019 to 2021. He believes that "Washington must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world."
There are a lot of issues that can stem from making this a reality. For one, the US has not tested any nuclear weapons since 1992, and for good reason. Since then, the weapons have only been tested using computer models, as pointed out by O'Brien.
Another is that nuclear tests were banned decades ago. In 1996, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was introduced and signed by 187, and it prohibits "any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion" in the world, as mentioned in Gizmodo.
It was even argued that other countries like Russia and China are busy building their nuclear arsenals and the Biden administration hasn't done enough to counter it. O'Brien then explained that nuclear weapons testing would "strengthen the U.S. arsenal and help deter America's foes."
Former Trump State Department official Christian Whiton also shared his thoughts, saying that it would be "negligent to field nuclear weapons of novel designs that we have never tested in the real world. To put how crazy this sounds, even the Trump team calls the advisors "misguided."
Nuclear weapon testing comes with a lot of negative side effects, even if they do fire the nukes in unpopulated areas. There's a reason why the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was put in place and why 187 countries agreed to it.
Nuclear Weapon Test Risks
Nuclear testing, apart from the devastation it leaves on test grounds and waters, also leaves the area radioactive for decades. Further down the line, testing was moved to exploding the weapons in the atmosphere, but even that had negative side effects.
According to the American Scientist, there was a time in the 1960s when there was no place on Earth where the signature of atmospheric nuclear testing could not be found in soil, water, and even polar ice. The radiation from the tests could be the cause of increased cancer rates.
Local human populations would be exposed to both external and internal irradiation. It could come from the radiation of the test fallout, some of which can travel through the wind or fall with rain. Exposed animals that produce products and are consumed by humans may also be a source of radiation.
