A nuclear weapon is a bomb or a missile that explodes using atomic energy. These are the most lethal weapons ever devised by humans. It can devastate entire cities and kill millions of people with ease. Those weapons are terrible, and they have the potential to have tragic consequences that last a long time. It is estimated that from 1946 to 1958, U.S. conducted a significant 67 nuclear weapon tests in the Pacific Ocean (Parsons & Zaballa, 2016). Overall, the U.S. did comprehensive tests of about 1032 nuclear tests. However, for the first time in 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which prohibits all types of nuclear explosions everywhere, was signed by the United States (Parsons & Zaballa, 2016). This signing was geared to avoid the dangerous effects of nuclear weapons, especially considering the people and the long-lasting effects throughout the Cold War due to nuclear weapons-related actions.
In 1954, the most devastating nuclear fallout happened. It was named Castle Bravo and was as a result of the U.S. activities in conducting nuclear bomb tests .The fallout happened on the Marshall Islands' Bikini Atoll (Atomic Tests Channel, 2016). The Castle Bravo was part and parcel of Operation Castle. The Operation Castle was a nuclear test program aimed at developing an aircraft-deliverable thermonuclear weapon. During the testing, the yield ability of the devices used was severely underestimated, which led to significant radiation contamination. The scientists estimated that the device would yield would be between five and six megatons. However, to the shock of the scientists was that Castle Bravo produced a 15 megaton yield making it more powerful than the U.S. nuclear dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima in 1945(Parsons & Zaballa, 2016). The scientists miscalculated because they did not foresee how much the "dry" source of fusion fuel, lithium deuteride with 40% lithium-6 isotope concentration, would contribute to the overall output of the detonation.
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The effect of the fallout was widespread. Traces of the radioactive component were spread to areas like Japan, Europe, India, and Australia. The radioactive test fallout covered more than 11,000 square kilometers. Before the start of the nuclear testing program, the U.S. had moved the Bikini people to neighboring atolls to prevent them from the harmful effects of nuclear testing. The fallout from the Bravo test damaged populated atolls in various places due to the unfavorable weather conditions in which it was performed. The test led to radioactive fallout that poured down on residents of atolls near the detonation site and service members working on Operation Castle. The effect was more significant in Marshall Islands of Rongerik, Rongelap, Utirik and Alinginea, atolls experienced substantial fallout. The U.S. evacuations were too slow to reduce the lethal amounts of radiation, and many residents were unaware of the repercussions of the nuclear test. The adverse effects were more advanced as many residents thought the powder was snow, so they played in it and ate it.
Today, I feel that several superpower nations are still holding nuclear weapons in secret. According to research conducted in 2020, Russia tops the list of the countries with the highest number of nuclear weapons, with possession of 6,375 nuclear warheads (Szmigiera, 2021) . Other nations like U.S. and France come closely with 5800 and 290 respective ly (Szmigiera, 2021). The manufacture and possession of dangerous weapons make people live in fear. People are afraid that should one superpower attack the other, the attacked will retaliate. In a fierce retaliation, one superpower might decide to use nuclear weapons to suppress the enemy. It is on this grounds that I believe we are living in fear. The superpower nations should embrace humanity and avoid manufacturing more nuclear weapons. Even though some may not have intentions of using such weapons, accidents may occur as it happened in Castle Bravo, and the adverse effects of such nuclear activities are difficult to think of. As Christians, we only pray and hope that we will not have such incidents in the future.
References
Atomic Tests Channel. (2016). HD Castle Bravo largest U.S nuclear explosion hydrogen bomb 1954 . YouTube. Retrieved July 17, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKmMiKJKbu0
Parsons, K. M., & Zaballa, R. (2016). Radiation Exposure, Dosage, and Its Biomedical Effects. Bombing the Marshall Islands , 204-222.
Szmigiera M. (2021). Topic: Nuclear Weapons . Statista. Retrieved July 17, 2021, from https://www.statista.com/topics/4269/nuclear-weapons/
