The Effects of Nuclear Testing

The world has been testing nuclear weapons since the mid-1940s, and the effects of those tests still impact the world today. It can take billions of years for radiation to break down into a harmless substance. Thus, sites for nuclear testing still contain much radiation that can leak into nearby areas and cause human and environmental harm. However, nuclear testing does have the positive impact of helping nations remove themselves from oil dependency.

History

• The United States tested the first nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945, although nuclear energy had been in development for years, according to Green Peace. The Soviet Union and Great Britain would follow suit with their own testing during the next decade. Though the U.S. generally does not test nuclear weapons any more, some nations with younger programs like China and India still do.

Considerations

• Part of the extreme danger of nuclear testing is the long half-life--the time it takes for have the atoms of a radioactive isotope to break down--of the radioactive components of nuclear material. Not all radioactive materials have a lengthy half-life; iodine-131, an important medical tracer, has a half-life of eight days. Radioactive material used in nuclear testing, like uranium-238, can have a half-life of 4.5 billion years.

Health

• Nuclear weapons testing can cause serious detrimental health effects, such as cancer, birth defects and mental deterioration, according to the Project of the Nuclear Peace Age Foundation. Radiation causes health problems, such as cancers, by mutating DNA. DNA is the genetic blueprint of the body, and when this is damaged, the body no longer knows how to fix itself. The results of damaged DNA are unpredictable, but cancer is a common result.

Environmental

• The long half-life of nuclear material for testing can contaminate an area for thousands and even millions of years, according to Friends of the Earth. Radioactive soil can infect the plants that grow out of it and any creature that lives on it. The effects of testing are not limited to testing sites; water can carry radiation many miles.

Positive Effect

• Although nuclear testing does cause a lot of media stir due to the harmful effects of radiation, nuclear testing does have a benefit. Nuclear testing leads to improvements in nuclear power, which does not give off the harmful greenhouse gases that fossil fuels emit. This not only prevents global warming, it also reduces a dependence on foreign oil.