Tara Hickman

Mr. Sheffield
8 February 2016
Comp 122
Nuclear Weapons:
Danger or Safety for all?
In late 1939, Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard, two world-renowned physicists, brought to
light a new technology that could change the act of war: nuclear fission. Scientists now had the
ability to split an atoms nucleus and trigger an extremely destructive explosion. President
Franklin D. Roosevelt, hesitant at first, agreed to the creation of The Manhattan Project with the
goal of harnessing the newly found power source and developing a nuclear weapon. The United
States had finally entered the global nuclear arms race, but many still had their reservations.
Joseph Rotblat, a physicist that left The Manhattan Project and Nobel Peace Prize winner for his
efforts for nuclear disarmament, was one of them. He cautioned all of humanity against nuclear
weapons with this statement, I have to bring to your notice a terrifying reality: with the
development of nuclear weapons Man has acquired, for the first time in history, the technical
means to destroy the whole of civilization in a single act. Nuclear weapons may pose one of the
largest threats against humanity, but that threat can also ensure a countrys safety.
At the beginning of World War II, Hitler and Nazi-Germany had claimed that they
possessed the ability to rule the world with a single weapon. Terrified of the consequences, the
rest of the world responded by preparing their own nuclear arms, thus starting a nuclear arms
race. On July 16, 1945, six years after President Roosevelt approved the Manhattan Project, a
team ran the first test in Alamogordo, New Mexico (Njlstad). It resulted in a gigantic explosion
that amazed many. Robert Oppenheimer, the projects leader, recited a phrase from the ancient
Hindu scripture Bhagavad-Gita, "I am become death, the shatterer of worlds." Oppenheimer
knew that the nuclear weapon held great power that could destroy the world.

Oppenheimer and his team had accomplished their goal with astounding success, but the
target had shifted from the Nazis to the Pacific War with the Japanese. Later that year, August 6,
President Harry S. Truman ordered the bomb, Little Boy, equal to the force of 12.5 kilotons of
TNT to be dropped on Hiroshima, a Japanese city. Three days later Fat Man, a bomb equal to
22 kilotons of TNT, was dropped onto another Japanese city, Nagasaki. Both bombs resulted in
massive explosions that killed 340,000 people, 54% of the population, due to radiation sickness
and flash burns (Clancey). After this massive devastation, the Japanese surrendered on August
15, 1945. The surrender not only ended the Pacific War, but it also showed how much power a
country with nuclear weapons possessed. Many became wary and attempted to start a movement
to ban the use of nuclear weapons, but the need for power and control prevailed.
The Soviet Union was one the countries that had been tempted by this power, which
caused them to steal blueprints of the American fission bomb. They ran their first successful test
on August 29, 1949, making them a nuclear power (Treaty on). These new developments
triggered President Truman to begin working on a hydrogen bomb, or H-bomb, that used nuclear
fission instead of fusion to create a much more powerful explosion, but the Soviet Union had the
same idea. By 1954, both countries had successfully tested H-bombs. After the United States
and Soviet Unions achievements, many other countries followed suit.
Originally, the United Kingdom partnered with the United States to build a nuclear
weapon in the 1940s, but they later created a different program independent of the one with the
United States during World War II in 1952 (Njlstad). France followed nine years later. China,
the fifth, with some assistance from the Soviet Union, on October 16, 1964.
According to the Health Research Foundation (HRF), Russia and the United States
currently lead the world in the number of nuclear weapons in their arsenals. The HRF reports

that France, China, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea all possess 10
to 300 nuclear weapons in their arsenals. Out of those countries, the United States, Russia, the
United Kingdom, China, and France currently comprise the five nuclear weapon states since they
have the largest arsenals.
As nuclear weapons became more common, many began realizing countries that had
developed nuclear weapons also held a large amount of influence and power. To prevent another
situation similar to the Cold War, where citizens feared nuclear annihilation at any moment, the
United Nations created the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT, in 1968
(Treaty on). If countries signed the NPT, they would agree that states with nuclear weapons
will pursue disarmament, states without nuclear weapons will not acquire them, and all states can
access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under safeguards. Currently, all five nuclear
weapon states and all members of the United Nations have signed the NPT with the exceptions
of Israel, Pakistan, and North Korea.
Even though only one country, the United States, has detonated nuclear weapons for the
purpose of war, scientists from around the world have completed their own tests and found that
the detonation of nuclear weapons devastate populations and leave landscapes desolate. In a
study done by Richard Turco and Alan Robock, UCLA professors, they predicted environmental
effects of a detonation of 50 15-kiloton bombs, only 0.03% of the worlds arsenal (Jha). Massive
amounts of soot would be launched into the atmosphere, causing a climate change much worse
than anything ever recorded, therefore, creating a Nuclear Winter. The term Nuclear Winter
originates from the belief a large number of small nuclear explosions or one severe nuclear
explosion would have enough soot to create a black carbon rain that would block out the sun,
causing a severe temperature drop of 1C for the first year, then a 1.5C drop annually for the

next five years (OCallaghan). After the temperature fall, it would take at least 20 years to be
within 0.5C of our current temperature. A decrease in temperature and sunlight does not only
mean a colder environment, but it can lead to other disastrous effects on crops as well.
Following the initial explosion, much of the landscape would be unsuitable for farming
for at least five years (Jha). Soil and water may still be polluted from plutonium, uranium,
cyanide, and other harmful substances for hundreds to thousands of years in some areas (Whats
the). If the land is safe enough to farm, growing seasons would still be shortened by 10 to 40
days due to the extremely low temperature. Some may think that this would not be a problem,
but it is not possible to completely dispose of the majority of the radioactive material, so the best
solution is to bury it. It may sound simple, but it can be a highly expensive process. Currently, it
is estimated that a clean-up of all the current weapons the United States has would cost
upwards of $300 billion according to Greenpeace. If a nuclear explosion were to occur, larger
populations may be forced to relocate in order to obtain food and reduce exposure to the toxic
chemicals and radiation, since there is no way to effectively clean up the radiation.
A majority of the after-effects of a nuclear weapon detonation have been theorized, but
the effects on humans were seen after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Flash burns,
caused by the heat emitted and radiation, were among the most common injuries seen
immediately following the explosion. Some were even severe enough to completely char the
skin to a dark brown or black, leading to an almost immediate death (Clancey). Those farther
away from the explosion may only experience burns on specific parts of their body depending on
the thickness of the clothing. When the burns healed doctors, observed a formation of excess
scar tissue, known as a keloid, and limited mobility in joints, mainly the knee and elbows.

Though flash burns were among the first and most apparent injuries, radiation sickness was even
more serious and deadly.
According to Dr. Robert Stone, radiation can cause cells, tissues, organs, and even DNA
in a human body to mutate, which causes many different health problems. Short-term symptoms
of radiation sickness include nausea, vomit and diarrhea with blood, fever, hair loss, poor wound
healing, low blood pressure, an absence of white blood cells, and the deterioration of bone
marrow (Mayo Clinic).
Long-term effects of radiation can still be observed from the survivors and their children
of the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Many of the unborn children had experience
mental retardation, smaller brain size, and other malformations (Clancey). Long-term effects of
radiation include an increased likelihood of lymphomas and thyroid cancer, leukemia, and
tumors. The long-term effects do not only consist of physical conditions, but mental as well.
Countless people suffered PTSD, but many analysts now believe that the severity of peoples
symptoms stretched far beyond PTSD. Lifton characterizes Neurasthenic Survivor Syndrome
as persistence of symptoms of withdrawal from social life, insomnia, nightmares, chronic
depressive and anxiety reactions and far-reaching somatization. . . in addition, fatigue, emotional
lability, loss of initiative, and generalized personal, sexual and social maladaptation. More than
anything, increased levels of fear and terror could be felt and observed throughout the
community. A survivor describes his experience, After the atomic bomb fell, I just could not
stay home. I would cook, but while cooking I would always be watching out and worrying
whether an atomic bomb would fall near me. Others cited similar stories, where people would
rush into shelters when a plane flew by. The bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima happened
nearly 75 years ago, but the bombs have changed due to technological advancements made

during that period.

Due to the rapidly developing technology, nuclear weapons are now controlled by various
computer programs, which increase the likelihood of a cyber attack that could end with very
disastrous results. The Nuclear Threat Initiative recently reported, A cyber attack against a
nuclear facility could facilitate the theft of nuclear materials or an act of sabotage leading to a
catastrophic radiation release. Yet most states are not effectively prepared to deal with this
emerging threat. So what does this mean for nuclear war, if countries do not have the ability to
control their nuclear weapons? Countries or groups with the ability to hack into a system now
possess the power of a nuclear weapon (Frenkel). This gives countries two options: increase the
security around their nuclear weapons or give them up.
The threat of nuclear war is enough to make anyone stop and carefully consider their next
steps, similar to the situation between the United States and Russia during the Cold War. Each
country began to build a stockpile of nuclear weapons, creating a credible threat against the
other, and the concept of nuclear deterrence. Since both sides were afraid of what the other
could do, they did not attack. Alongside nuclear deterrence came the theory of Mutually Assured
Destruction, more commonly known as MAD. MAD is the theory that neither side will attack
the other with nuclear weapons because when the first side fires their nuclear weapons, they will
also be destroyed when the other side fires back (Wilde). If all countries were to follow the
concept of MAD and the NPT, meaning nuclear weapons would not be used in any way, none of
the negative effects on humans or the environment would even happen.
Due to the massive explosions of nuclear fission and fusion weapons, complete
destruction of the intended target is ensured. In short, wars would end much faster and with
much fewer lives lost. Historians believe that the number of casualties would have been much

higher if the United States were to have invaded Japan. It is estimated that nearly 2 million
Japanese citizens would have died if the United States had invaded Japan instead of deploying
the two bombs (Anderson). Based on the initial number of lives lost on the Japanese side,
dropping the nuclear bombs sounds more reasonable than traditional war despite the
consequences.
Modern nuclear weapons are now more easily controlled than those many people refer to
when talking about the negative effects. New atomic bombs can be precision-guided by a
computer, making it much easier to hit a target accurately (Wittner). Not only are they more
accurate, the level of explosiveness can be adjusted, minimizing civilian casualties. In response
to these new developments, General James E. Cartwright, a former head of the U.S. Strategic
Command and a retired vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, commented, It makes the trigger
easier to pull but makes the need to pull the trigger less likely. A country with more powerful
and destructive weapons means more fear and caution instilled in other countries.
When a country possesses nuclear weapons, it means that they hold great power and
dominance over countries who do not, but it also means that they hold a weapon that would
ensure complete destruction over their target. As with any war, someone has to make the choice
between which lives are more important and consider what it means to give the command to
detonate. The weapons are now much more destructive and powerful than they have been in the
past, but they are also more accurate. The United States, after nearly 75 years, still remains the
only country to have detonated nuclear weapons for the use of war, so there are not many
examples for others to follow. One fact still remains: even those who support nuclear weapons
are hesitant to press that button because no one knows when the right time is or if it will ever
come.

Works Cited
Anderson, Duncan. Nuclear Power: The End of War Against Japan. BBC. 17 February 2011.
Web. 31 January 2016.
Clancey, Patrick. The United States Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of Atomic Bombs
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. United States Government. 1946. Web. 20 January 2016.
Frenkel, Sheera. These Countries Are Scarily Bad At Protecting Their Nuclear Materials From
Cyberattacks. BuzzFeed News World. 20 January 2016. Web. 21 January 2016.
Jha, Alok. Climate threat from nuclear bombs. The Guardian. 12 December 2006. Web. 18
January 2016.
Lifton, Robert Jay. Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima. Random House. 25 November
1991. Print. 10 February 2016.
Mayo Clinic Staff. Radiation Sickness. Mayo Clinic. 2016. Web. 31 January 2016.
National Security Staff Interagency Policy Coordination Subcommittee for Preparedness &
Response to Radiological and Nuclear Threats. Planning Guidance for Response to a
Nuclear Detonation: Second Edition. Federal Emergency Management Agency. June
2010. Web. 21 January 2016.
Njlstad, Olav. The Development and Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The Norwegian
Nobel Institute. 19 June 2003. Web. 18 January 2016.
OCallaghan, Jonathan. Life after a nuclear war revealed: Computer models reveal Earth would
suffer a 20-year-long winter and worldwide famine. Daily Mail. 21 July 2014. Web. 20
January 2016.
Pros and Cons of Nuclear Weapons. Health Research Funding. 28 April 2014. Web. 20
January 2016.

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Nuclear Threat Initiative. 13

November 2015. Web. 19 January 2016.
Whats the damage? Greenpeace. 26 April 2006. Web. 19 January 2016.
Wilde, Robert. Mutually Assured Destruction. abouteducaiton. 18 October 2015. Web. 21
January 2016.
Wittner, Lawrence. Modernizing the Opportunities for Nuclear War. The Huffington Post. 18
January 2016. Web. 21 January 2016.