Weapons Testing Research Articles

A Batch Experiment of Cesium Uptake Using Illitic Clays with Different Degrees of Crystallinity

Radiocesium released by the severe nuclear accident and nuclear weapon test is a hazardous material. Illitic clays play a key role in the spatial distribution of radiocesium in groundwater environments due to selective uptake sites at the illite mineral, such as frayed edge sites. However, the cesium uptake capabilities of illitic clays are diverse, which could be associated with the illite crystallinity. This study was performed to determine the cesium uptake of illitic clays and evaluate the crystallinity effects on cesium uptake using statistical approaches. A total of 10 illitic clays showed various crystallinity, which was parameterized by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) at 10 Å XRD peak ranging from 0.15 to 0.64. The uptake behavior of illitic clays was well fitted with the Freundlich model (i.e., r2 > 0.946). The uptake efficiency of illitic clays increased with the decrease in dissolved cesium concentrations. The cesium uptake was significantly correlated with the FWHM and cation exchange capacity, suggesting that the uptake becomes higher with decreasing crystallinity through expansion of the edge site and/or formation of ion-exchangeable sites.

Kim's Shock: Geopolitical Tension and Corporate Investment

The North Korea nuclear weapon tests precipitated geopolitical tension in northeast Asia. We document a decrease in the average investment ratio of Chinese firms following each nuclear test. Unlike other types of uncertainties, the impact spreads from the conflict zone and dwindles away from the test site. Apart from the geographical features, we find that the geopolitical tension impact is larger for firms that are not owned by the Chinese central government and rely heavily on external finance. Our results suggest that the fear of nuclear pollution rather than the war outbreak is the primary concern when making investment decisions.

Addressing the Ongoing Humanitarian and Environmental Consequences of Nuclear Weapons: An Introductory Review

AbstractThe use and testing of nuclear weapons caused transnational and catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences. Legacies of more than 2,000 nuclear detonations in the territories of 15 states persist today, with serious implications for human rights and sustainable development. There is an inadequate global policy architecture for addressing the humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons. However, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted by 122 states at the UN in 2017, established obligations to assist victims of nuclear weapons and testing and remediate contaminated environments. Other global policymaking bodies have also mandated action on such concerns. In this review article, introducing a Special Section on ‘Addressing the Humanitarian and Environmental Consequences of Nuclear Weapons’, we provide a global overview of the facts about past nuclear weapons activities in different countries and some of the known and potential ongoing consequences of the blast, heat and radioactive energy released by past nuclear weapons detonations. In doing so, we aim to inform the development of policy around the TPNW and the gathering of further relevant information, enabling efforts to develop global humanitarian, human rights and sustainable development policy assisting communities affected by nuclear weapons.

Commentary on Addressing the Legacies of Nuclear Weapons Use and Testing: Perspectives from Survivors

AbstractTo develop an effective and responsive global policy framework for addressing the humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons, survivors and communities affected by nuclear weapons use and testing, and their perspectives and expertise on what is needed, must be included. Testimony from survivors was crucial to the global effort for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Articles 6 and 7 will require states joining the TPNW to provide assistance (such as medical and psychological support, and social and economic inclusion) to the victims of nuclear weapons use and testing, and to take measures towards remediating environments that are still affected (See Bolton & Minor and Docherty’s contributions in this Special Section for further details). Going forward, policy development on the implementation of Articles 6 and 7 of the TPNW should be guided by the priorities that affected communities identify.

Addressing the Humanitarian and Environmental Consequences of Atmospheric Nuclear Weapon Tests: A Case Study of UK and US Test Programs at Kiritimati (Christmas) and Malden Islands, Republic of Kiribati

AbstractBetween 1957 and 1962, the UK and USA conducted 33 atmospheric nuclear weapons test detonations at or close to Malden and Kiritimati (Christmas) Islands (total yield 31 megatons), formerly British colonial territories in the central Pacific region, now part of the Republic of Kiribati. Some 40,000 British, Fijian, New Zealand and US civilian and military personnel participated in the test program and 500 i‐Kiribati civilians lived on Kiritimati at the time. This article reviews humanitarian and environmental consequences of the UK and US nuclear weapons testing programs in Kiribati, as well as the policy measures that have addressed them. The authors contend that policy interventions to date have not adequately addressed the needs and rights of test survivors, nor ongoing environmental concerns. They argue that the victim assistance and environmental remediation obligations in the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons offer an important new opportunity for addressing the consequences of nuclear detonations in Kiribati, by focusing policy attention and constituting a new field of development assistance.

Review and assessment of national efforts to manage radioactive sources and enhance nuclear security measures in Lebanon

Radioactive and nuclear materials have been used for a long time in warfare. During the 20th and 21st centuries, a large number of atmospheric and underground nuclear weapons tests were carried out, even after the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT), leading to ecologically and socially destroyed sites. The most recent ones were in North Korea and Russia. With the widespread of peaceful use of radiological and nuclear material, the threats of nuclear terrorism or malicious use of these materials have become major concern across the world. Although the issuing of the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material treaty in 1997 (CPPNM), a considerable number of incidents involving radioactive materials due to unauthorized access or use were reported to the Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB) system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In Lebanon, radioactive materials are vastly used in medicine, industry, research and agriculture. As a consequence, our country is facing the world common concerns and threats, especially after recent security status and geopolitical situation in the region. This work served to evaluate the current national situation relevant to nuclear security, where strong and weak points, pertinent to legal texts and procedures, were highlighted in order to deduce essential recommendations that could help in strengthening national security regime. The exerted governmental efforts were presented and discussed.

Machine learning for the analysis of 2D radioxenon beta gamma spectra

Clandestine nuclear testing can be detected at a standoff distance using radioxenon beta-gamma analysis. International treaty monitoring organizations depend, in part, upon the activity ratios of various radioxenon types to determine if collected samples are the result of a weapons test or a peaceful purpose such as energy or medical isotope production. However, the currently deployed radioxenon analysis method makes assumptions about the location of energy coincidence counts on a beta-gamma spectrum, such that this method is particularly sensitive to measurement or calibration errors. We propose a machine learning method instead. By exposing a computer algorithm to many representative examples, the resultant computer model detects patterns in the data without making additional assumptions. Both a classification model predicting which radioisotopes are present and a regression model predicting concentrations of the radioisotopes are tested. This work is a proof-of-concept that machine learning can be effectively applied to radioxenon beta-gamma analysis.

Analysis of thermal and gas-dynamic characteristics of different types of propellant in small weapons

This paper presents a numerical and an analytical approach for calculation of internal ballistics parameters through determination of thermal and gasdynamic characteristics. The calculated parameters are validated through experimental tests on a real weapon system. The internal ballistic calculations are provided for two types of propellants using an analytical and a numerical model. Calculations and tests are performed for an anti-material rifle 12.7 mm. Weapon and ammunition testing is carried out according to the permanent international commission standard. Theoretical and experimental results for the gunpowder gases pressure and the muzzle velocity are compared. The good agreements between the calculated and the measured pressures and velocities increase the reliability of the estimated gunpowder gas temperatures in the barrel. The obtained results enable analysis and comparison of the output internal ballistics parameters for different types of propellant applications.

The concept of an early warning system for the use of nuclear technology in Indonesia

The application of nuclear power plants in the world is increasing and has the potential for accidents, including nuclear weapons tests from outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, thus allowing radioactive releases to fall into Indonesian territory, which is a potential threat. Indonesia also utilizes nuclear power in many fields, thus also potentially becoming a national threat. To prevent the threat of radiation potential requires a nuclear disaster Early Warning System (EWS) that can be accessed by the community. This research analysed the EWS that Indonesia needed, using qualitative methods by describing the results of research obtained from interviews and secondary data. Results and research discussions starting from observation and monitoring of radiation exposure, warning services, information dissemination, and supported by countermeasures for the effectiveness of the EWS. The results showed that the development of an integrated nuclear disaster EWS that is easily accessible to the community quickly and continuously under the development of an emergency is a strategy as a decision to reduce the risk of nuclear disaster. The development of the strategy requires a legal basis that regulates coordination between ministries/institutions, from planning to information dissemination to ensure the safety of the public and Indonesian people's security.

Analysis of the Capture Rate of Barrel Weapon Test Based on Laser Screen Velocity Measurement System

The flying velocity is a key parameter of the projectile in the exterior ballistic test, which is usually measured by the laser screen velocity measurement system. However, how to set the system parameters reasonably to ensure the system capture rate is a challenge due to the insufficient research. In order to solve this problem, our research reveals the change law of the system capture rate by deriving the mathematical model and simulation based on the principle of system detection and the gun firing distribution law. With the three system settings in the simulation, the critical height of the muzzle are 3.78m, 4.1m, and 3.9m respectively. Within the critical height, the system capture rate is greater than 99% theoretically. If it exceeds the critical height, the system capture rate will drop rapidly to 0. In addition, changing the laser power or the arrangement of the detection devices during the test will affect the system capture rate. To verify the simulation result, we perform a gun shoot experiment, fully confirming our analyses.

Source, Spatial Distribution and Migration of <sup>239+240</sup>Pu in Chinese Soils

The source, spatial distribution, typical vertical distribution and migration of 239+240 Pu in Chinese 647 surface soils and 66 soil cores are investigated in this study. To provide a complete spatial distribution of 239+240 Pu in Chinese surface soil, an overall pattern of and mechanism for 239+240 Pu migration in Chinese core soil, we summarize and analyze the 239+240 Pu surface and vertical distributions in literature. Comprehensive statistical analysis suggests four typical distributions in Chinese soil cores. It is found that the 239+240 Pu vertical distribution is closely related to the soil type and the 239+240 Pu migration. The result indicates that global fallout is the major source of 239+240 Pu in Chinese soils, with the average 240 Pu/ 239 Pu atom ratios around 0.18. Abnormally low 240 Pu/ 239 Pu ratios are detected in Jiuquan region and northern Xinjiang province in Northwest China, which can be attributed to nuclear weapons tests. To further investigate the migration behaviors of 239+240 Pu in soil cores in China, we apply the Convection Dispersion Equation (CDE) model and find that 239+240 Pu apparent convection velocities ranges from 0.00032±0.00031 cm/a to 0.473±0.083 cm/a. As shown in four typical vertical 239+240 Pu activity distribution soil cores, the deepened 239+240 Pu activity maximum value position implies a fast 239+240 Pu migration rate or apparent convection velocity. This study for the first time suggests a significant linear correlation ( R 2 =0.847) between depth of 239+240 Pu maximum value (cm) and apparent convection velocity (v, cm/a), and we speculate that v usually does not exceed 0.5 cm/a. A significant linear correlation is also identified between apparent dispersion coefficient (D, cm 2 /a) and v 2 in Chinese soil cores.

Radiation-hygienic characteristic of the global radionuclide fallout in the arctic regions of Russia (based on the data of the Institute of Radiation Hygiene after professor P.V. Ramzaev)

The recent years are associated with active development of the coastal areas of the Russian arctic regions including a construction of the facilities of the extraction and processing of the hydrocarbons, the civil and military facilities. The nuclear weapon tests, performed by the USSR and other nuclear countries in the second half of the XX century, lead to the global radioactive fallout, including the fallout on costal areas of the arctic regions of the USSR. Five most powerful nuclear munitions were tested on the Novaya Zemlya Test Site in the Arkhangelsk region. The Institute of Radiation Hygiene after professor P.V. Ramzaev (before 1994 — the Leningrad Scientific-Research Institute of Radiation Hygiene) has accumulated a 20-year experience of the radiation-hygienic surveys on the assessment of the consequences of the nuclear weapon tests for the Far-North of the USSR: from the development of the equipment and methods for the extraction, analysis and measurement of the low levels of the radioactive isotopes in humans and environment, to the wide-scale radiation-hygienic surveys of the links in the “northern food chain” — lichen, raindeers and native inhabitants. The obtained data allowed performing a complex assessment of the role of the radiation factor in the health of the public residing on the coastal areas of the Arctic Ocean.

Tree-ring Δ14C time series from 1948 to 2018 at a regional background site, China: Influences of atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and fossil fuel emissions

Δ14C values were measured from tree-rings (1948–2018) of Pinus tabuliformis Carr. that grew at the Shangdianzi (SDZ) regional background site in China. The objectives of this study are to establish a record of atmospheric Δ14C, and to evaluate the influences of Chinese atmospheric nuclear tests and fossil carbon emissions on atmospheric Δ14C variations. The SDZ tree-ring Δ14C values are negative before 1956, and increase dramatically in response to global atmospheric nuclear tests, with a peak value of 844.0 ± 4.2‰ in 1964. After the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, the Δ14C values at SDZ decrease exponentially during 1964–2018. The half-life of the Δ14C decrease was protracted by approximately 2.7 yr during 1964–1984, due to Chinese atmospheric nuclear tests as well as Chinese forests as a carbon source during that period. Massive fossil carbon emissions in China lead to the SDZ decrease rate that is about 1.8‰ yr−1 faster than that for the Northern Hemisphere background region during 2000–2010. SDZ Δ14C since 2000 show strong negative correlations with fossil carbon emissions from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region (r2 = 0.954) and China (r2 = 0.950), and a 1‰ decrease in SDZ Δ14C indicates an increase of 2.3 ± 0.2 Mt C and 23.3 ± 1.7 Mt C fossil carbon emissions from the BTH region and China, respectively.

ON POSSIBLE FUNCTIONAL COMPONENTS OF THE INFORMATION SYSTEM OF ARMS AND MILITARY EQUIPMENT TESTING OF THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE

Today, the problem of ensuring the effectiveness of the system of testing weapons and military equipment remains relevant. According to the existing national legislation and the accepted standards, separate specialized institutions are involved in the testing of samples of armaments and military equipment. One of the methods of improving the efficiency of test centers and institutions is the automation of all processes that accompany the testing of samples of weapons, military equipment and special equipment.
 The article highlights the approaches to the design and practical implementation of the information system to support the testing of weapons and military equipment. Its possible functional composition is considered. It is assumed that the information system should automate all processes in the test facility that are somehow related to the tests.Based on the analysis of existing guidance documents and scientific and technical information sources, the composition of the main functional components of the information system of test support is proposed. The necessity of introducing a management component into the information system for the implementation of a targeted approach to the management of a testing facility is substantiated. Reclassification of tasks of information databases on stages of carrying out tests is done.
 Based on the generalized scheme of testing the conceptual model of information system of support of tests is offered.The approximate composition of individual software modules and the content of databases are given.The expediency of using a spiral model of software design for the development of a comprehensive full-featured information system for test support is substantiated.
 It is expected that the automation of planning, conducting and other processes that accompany the tests can significantly affect the overall efficiency of the organization and conduct of tests, ensure the proper quality of the results and help reduce time losses for testing.

Determination of Plutonium and Uranium Radionuclides in Glacier Ice Samples by MC-ICP-MS

A radiochemical procedure for the determination of plutonium (Pu) and uranium (U) radionuclides in ice samples by multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS) is presented. Pu and U radionuclides are preconcentrated by coprecipitation and then separated by extraction chromatography. The purified Pu and U fractions are analyzed by MC-ICP-MS. Detection limits of 2 × 10 -3 and 3 × 10-6 mBq kg-1 were achieved for 239Pu and 236U, respectively. Surface ice samples collected from the Gauli glacier (Switzerland) were analyzed by this method. The surface of the Gauli Glacier retains historical records of 239Pu, 240Pu and 236U from the nuclear weapon testing (NWT) period. Pu and U radionuclides were found to be consistent in terms of pattern, showing two peaks possibly related to the two main periods of the NWTs (1954-1958 and 1961-1963). ³H measurements, also released by the NWT, further confirmed the Pu and U results. The 240Pu/239Pu ratio ranged from 0.14 to 0.25, and 236U/ 239Pu ranged from 0.14 to 0.81. The Pu atom ratios ranged within the limits of global fallout in the most intensive period of NWT (1952 to 1962).

A historical record of the impact of nuclear activities based on 129I in coral cores in Baler, Philippines: An update

In a previous study in 2016, we presented how 129I in coral cores from the east (Baler) and west (Parola) sides of the Philippines recorded the impacts of human nuclear activities, including nuclear weapons testing, nuclear fuel reprocessing, and nuclear accidents. However, the 2016 Baler dataset only had a two-year time resolution and a crude age model based on growth band counting. Here we present a new 2020 Baler 129I/127I atomic ratio dataset that features at least annual time resolution and a more accurate age model constructed using 3D X-ray Computed Tomography. Results show that the bomb peaks in Baler primarily came from the Pacific Proving Grounds or PPG with a time lag of about 1.8 years (or more specifically, between 1.3 and 2.4 years). Moreover, a review of the Parola dataset shows that PPG signals may have been transported to Parola in the West Philippine Sea via two pathways: the northward and southward bifurcations of the North Equatorial Current, reaching Parola about 4.5 and 8.5 years after detonation, respectively. Moreover, a prominent peak in the year 2014.7 in Baler possibly came from the 2011 Fukushima Accident, transported by the Kuroshio Recirculation Gyre and the North Pacific Mode Waters with a 3.5-year time lag. This study contributes to the understanding of the impact and transport of human-made radionuclides to the Philippines and the relevant oceanographic processes in the Western Equatorial Pacific region.

The Nevada Movement: A Model of Trans-Indigenous Antinuclear Solidarity

Corbin Harney, Western Shoshone elder and spiritual leader, rises in prayer. He lights a ceremonial pipe and upon inhaling offers it to Olzhas Suleimenov, Kazakh national poet and leader of the Nevada-Semipalatinsk movement, who smokes it in turn. After completing the Western Shoshone Pipe Ceremony, the two reach down into the earth, each pulling up a stone, which they then proceed—in accordance with Kazakh custom—to throw at the face of evil—in this case, the face of nuclear fallout. This face is everywhere at the Nevada Test Site, and yet, nowhere to be seen. Guidelines for direct action campaigns at the test site caution would-be activists to be afraid of it—to be afraid of the dust. Contaminated from decades of nuclear weapons testing, this dust kills—just one more thing the Western Shoshone share with the Kazakhs, who, nearly a year-and-a-half earlier and halfway across the globe, gathered at Semipalatinsk, the Soviet counterpart to the Nevada Test Site, to hurl their own stones at the face of this very same evil. In 1989, inspired by Western Shoshone attempts to end nuclear weapons testing on their ancestral homeland, the Kazakhs rose up to demand an immediate cessation of Soviet testing at Semipalatinsk. They not only named their nascent movement Nevada, but they also took as their logo a Kazakh nomad sharing a pipe with a Western Shoshone. Over the next two years, Western Shoshone and Nevada activists engaged in cultural and political exchanges that sent delegates to protest in each other’s respective homeland. Soviet officials have repeatedly credited the Nevada-Semipalatinsk movement in their decision to halt their nuclear weapons testing program. By August 1991 Semipalatinsk closed. And without a credible Soviet threat the United States halted its own nuclear weapons testing program the following year. This essay documents the origins of this historic trans-Indigenous activism, as well as the joint strategies, tactics, and discourses employed by both movements in their bid to end nuclear weapons testing in their respective homelands.

The Politics of Invisibility: Visualizing Legacies of Nuclear Imperialisms

Questions of visibility, witnessing, and agency are particularly pertinent to post-1945 US and French nuclear testing across Oceania. Images of enormous hovering atomic mushroom clouds have become familiar icons of this testing, while images of the effects of colonial–imperial occupation and ideology in the Pacific are rendered invisible within government-controlled imagery. Alternative forms of visualization are required to be able to (re)see the human experiences that remain central to contemporary Pacific militarization and the legacies of nuclear weapons testing. Images, be they from social media and online platforms, archives, or public exhibitions, have the political potential to make visible Indigenous experiences of nuclear testing and ongoing militarization. Here, our work expands the concept of transnational studies by centering Oceanic, archipelagic, and island thinking. This article explores how contemporary photographic imagery politicizes what has been rendered (in)visible through state-produced imagery, archiving practices, and US national park recognition.  Focusing on American-born Chinese visual artist Jane Chang Mi’s series (See Reverse Side.) (2017) and Marshallese photojournalist and filmmaker Leonard Leon’s (@pacific_aesthetics) series of Instagram posts (2019), we argue that their methods of image-making can enable alternative forms of socioethical witnessing and visibility of not only state-produced archival images but also of the Indigenous Pacific communities who are deeply affected by nuclear testing and ongoing militarization. Through close readings of their works, we question how photographic practices communicate the humanity of nuclear military conduct while bringing their viewers closer to the human experience of living in a highly militarized and nuclear context.

Gaining Entrée into a Micronesian Islander-Based Community Organization Through Culturally Responsive Team Building and Reflection.

Building trust and rapport is crucial in developing sustainable relationships with communities of color who have suffered historical trauma (Nguyen-Truong, Closner, & Fritz, 2019; 1Nguyen-Truong, 1Leung, & Micky, 2020a). A history of nuclear weapons testing by the United States in Micronesia, and subsequent ill-prepared cleanup efforts, has created a historical trauma for the Micronesian Islander community (Letman, 2013). The purpose of this brief article is to describe a critical foundational engagement project approach when gaining entrée into a Micronesian Islander community-based organization to co-develop the culturally relevant main project to improve rates of Micronesian Islander enrollment in early childhood learning (ECL) programs. Building a sustainable community-academic partnership through culturally responsive team (CRT) building and leveraging the collective strengths, to address a community need, took half a year for relationship building, and shared decision-making.

Mapping the age of ice of Gauligletscher combining surface radionuclide contamination and ice flow modeling

Abstract. In the 1950s and 1960s, specific radionuclides were released into the atmosphere as a result of nuclear weapons testing. This radioactive fallout left its signature on the accumulated layers of glaciers worldwide, thus providing a tracer for ice particles traveling within the gravitational ice flow and being released into the ablation zone. For surface ice dating purposes, we analyze here the activity of 239Pu, 240Pu and 236U radionuclides derived from more than 200 ice samples collected along five flowlines at the surface of Gauligletscher, Switzerland. It was found that contaminations appear band-wise along most of the sampled lines, revealing a V-shaped profile consistent with the ice flow field already observed. Similarities to activities found in ice cores permit the isochronal lines at the glacier from 1960 and 1963 to be identified. Hence this information is used to fine-tune an ice flow/mass balance model, and to accurately map the age of the entire glacier ice. Our results indicate the strong potential for combining radionuclide contamination and ice flow modeling in two different ways. First, such tracers provide unique information on the long-term ice motion of the entire glacier (and not only at its surface), and on the long-term mass balance, and therefore offer an extremely valuable data tool for calibrating ice flows within a model. Second, the dating of surface ice is highly relevant when conducting “horizontal ice core sampling”, i.e., when taking chronological samples of surface ice from the distant past, without having to perform expensive and logistically complex deep ice-core drilling. In conclusion, our results show that an airplane which crash-landed on the Gauligletscher in 1946 will likely soon be released from the ice close to the place where pieces have emerged in recent years, thus permitting the prognosis given in an earlier model to be revised considerably.