Nuclear Weapons 60 Years On: Still a Global Public Health Threat

T he United States carried out the world's fi rst nuclear test, codenamed " Trinity, " on 16 July 1945 in the desert of New Mexico. Just three weeks later, on 6 August, the US exploded a uranium device called " Little Boy " 2,000 feet above the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing around 150,000 people. Three days later, the US deployed a second nuclear bomb, a plutonium device called " Fat Man, " that exploded above the Japanese city of Nagasaki, resulting in at least 74,000 deaths. These two terrible acts heralded the start of the nuclear age, which reached its peak during the Cold War. Sixteen years after the fall of the Berlin wall, symbolising the end of the Cold War, it is easy to forget the terror that gripped the world over the threat of a nuclear war that could destroy the planet. But the state of the world at the 60-year anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima should be enough to shake us from our complacency, especially considering the number of countries that have nuclear weapons and haven't signed or ratifi ed the relevant treaties, and the outcome of the latest review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) earlier this year (see below). are the only " declared " nuclear states; that is, they have declared that they have nuclear weapons in the NPT. But there are also " undeclared " states. Table 1 shows the countries that have nuclear weapons and how many they have. Box 1 shows the current status of these countries and in what situation they have indicated they would be prepared to use their nuclear weapons. The NPT. The main objective of the NPT is to stop the spread, or " proliferation, " of nuclear weapons. The declared nuclear states had to agree not to pass on to other countries any nuclear weapons technology and, under Article VI, they also have to " pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament…. " Non-nuclear-weapon states had to promise not to make any attempt to acquire nuclear weapons. If they complied, in return they could get help to develop a nuclear power programme. Box 2 shows who has not signed the NPT. The US recently granted India access to its civilian nuclear knowledge in exchange for a …