Lee

Sanghwa Lee
Per 1
Government
Mr. Davis
Nuclear Weapon
So long as nuclear weapons continue to exist, so will the temptation to threaten
others with overwhelming military force.(Ikeda). As Ikeda mentioned, nuclear weapons
contain enormous potential powers to threat other countries. The threatening comes from the
actual power of the nuclear weapons, which is almost thousands or millions times stronger
than the regular types of weapons; one or two powerful nuclear bombs can ruin a whole
country and even some part of neighboring countries. Considering cost, environmental
effects, and physical damages that all come from nuclear weapons, congress should regulate
and limit the usage of the nuclear weapons.
The cost of everything related to nuclear weapons is enormous, which is one of the
factors why they need to be regulated. Since the first time nuclear weapon came out, the
money costs for researching and maintaining the nuclear weapon have been an issue. The
first time the nuclear weapon was made was when the World War II occurred. Scientists from
the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada participated in the project called Manhattan
project. From building factories and buying all the materials for weapons to hiring more than
130000 people, Manhattan project costed more than $20 billion. This cost Includes costs
from 1940-42 for the National Defense Research Council and the Office of Scientific
Research and Development. Excludes $76 million spent by the Army Air Forces on Project
SILVERPLATE from September 1943 through September 1945. (Stephen I. Schwartz). The
cost is not only on making weapons but also on maintaining the weapons. Maintenance of
nuclear weapon is another issue; more than $30 million dollars are used up per year to

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maintain and to modernize explosive arsenals.(Elliott). Spending so much money on
weapons to kill people and attack the countries while there are plenty of better things
government can spend money on is immoral. Nuclear weapons should be regulated and
limited so the money can be used in a brighter way.
Not only cost of the Nuclear Weapon, but also environmental impact is the big reason
why they need to be limited. Aside from the initial human death toll, it is clear that the use
of nuclear weapons can have devastating and long-lasting effects on the Earths
environment.(Steven Starr). Because of nuclear weapons strong and deadly radiation, there
are many negative effects on both animals and plants. One of the very common side effects of
radiations on animals and plants is alteration of the DNA in the genes. Alternation of the
DNA will cause genetic mutations; it will create animals like ducks with three legs or
tomatoes with unfamiliar figure. Mutations are passed from one generation to the next, and
show signs of accumulating over time.(Mousseau). There are not only effects come from the
radiation but also there are effects that come immediately from shockwaves and fireballs.
Those powerful shockwaves and fireballs will blow up and destroy the nature environments.
The costs for the nuclear weapon come up again in terms of recovering environment that was
destroyed by the bomb. In order to recover the environment that is ruined by weapons,
tremendous aunt of money costs. Money and non-monetary compensation paid by the
United States to Marshallese Islanders since 1956 to redress damages from nuclear testing
was at least $759,000,000 (U.S Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project). Even though it was
small recovery back in 1956, it took $759000000. It will cost more in nowadays with more
powerful weapons. There is no reason United States to have so many nuclear weapons, that
can cause terrifying environmental damage.
With all the costs and environmental impact, physical damage is another factor I
believe why regulation of nuclear weapon should be enacted. Physical damages caused by

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nuclear weapon come from both heat and radiation. Depends on the distance between the
person and where the explosion happened, the person can die immediately or get serious
degree of burns all over the body. The fireball from a nuclear explosion reaches blackbody
temperature greater than 10^7 K.(Fas). The serious and horrible parts come when people are
exposed to the radiation. The most important factor is the amount of the dose - the amount
of energy actually deposited in your body. The more energy absorbed by cells, the greater the
biological damage.(atomicarchive) Depending on the level of the dose, radiation will make
people to lose their hair, will mass their brain up, will ruin the blood system, and will make
their heart to go wrong. Eventually most of the people who were exposed to the radiation will
get closer to death. Because of these horrible effects of nuclear weapons on people, nuclear
weapons should be limited.
Some people who are pro-nuclear weapon might say nuclear weapon is needed for the
protection and safety of the country. It is true that nations that have nuclear weapons are far
less likely to be attacked by another nation, even if that other nation also has a nuclear
arsenal, however if one were to take a bigger look, it can be harmful for the country. Having
those dangerous weapons for over 70 years, there were many small and big accidents that
were occurred in United States. Last year, in North Carolina two nuclear bombs nearly
detonated. On a January night in 1961, a U.S. Air Force bomber broke in half while flying
over eastern North Carolina. From the belly of the B-52 fell two bombs -- two nuclear bombs
that hit the ground near the city of Goldsboro.(Lacey-Bordeaux). Even though it didnt
explode, it almost did, which could blow up the states and even other states. Another factor
pro-nuclear people might say is that people get new type of jobs by developing the field of
nuclear weapon. Even though it is true that people get more jobs and new jobs, it is solid that
it is totally immoral to use tremendous money and people to develop weapons to kill people.
Because it is so dangerous that it indirectly violates the protection and safety of the country

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and people, nuclear weapon should be regulated.
Since the beginning of the 1940s to current days, nuclear weapons are one of the big
issues we can hear from news or other medias. And since 1940s, the debating between pros
and cons of nuclear weapon has been in very active status; the debating is still going on
among people who are very enthusiastic on the issue. However as I mentioned previously,
there are so many reasons why United States should regulate and limit the both amount of the
nuclear weapons and usage of the nuclear weapons; such as cost of the weapons, negative
effect of the weapons on environments, and physical damages that can be caused by nuclear
weapons. Congress should regulate and limit the usage of the nuclear weapon and number of
nuclear weapon.