Atomic battlefield

From Snow to Desert Rock

Some trials were accompanied by regular military maneuvers. In September 1954, the russian Union conducted any of the most controversial exercises in past at the Tockockey camp in the Orenburg Oblast – Operation Snow. An atomic bomb of about 40 kT was detonated then – just a fewer minutes after the detonation – more than 45,000 soldiers entered the contamination area. The goal was to test the army's ability to carry out combat actions on the battlefield after a atomic attack. Soldiers marched through the fallout zone, practiced attack and defense, and besides operated equipment that had previously been in the epicentre of the explosion. Among the participants were not only private soldiers, but besides staff officers, doctors and technicians – many were unaware of the scale of the threat. Over the years, the information about the Snowman remained classified, and the wellness effects for participants of the exercise were only revealed after the fall of the USSR.

And yet the Americans turned out to be no better. Between 1951 and 1957, in the Nevada Desert, the United States Army conducted a series of exercises under the codename "Desert Rock". Thousands of soldiers, mostly young recruits, watched atomic explosions from only a fewer kilometres away. After the detonation, troops entered the fallout region to practice offensive and defensive actions under conditions of “atomic battlefield”. Soldiers have been assured that the radiation is "not dangerous", and many of them have not even received basic protection measures. In the following decades, many exercise participants have contracted cancer, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. It was not until the 1980s that the U.S. government began to pay compensation under the Radiation vulnerability Compensation Act. papers revealed after the end of the Cold War showed that the US and USSR governments were aware of the risks but ignored them in the name of “scientific progress”.

Effects on public health

Above all, however, civilians suffered. After the Detonation of the "Crescent" in 1954, radioactive contamination spread to hundreds of kilometres and it was essential to evacuate residents of the Rongelap and Utrik atolls. In areas frequently repeated tests (such as Nevada or Semipalatinsk) there was an increased incidence of cancer, there was a higher proportion of foetal deformities and thyroid diseases. In the old atomic fields, water and dirt are inactive contaminated – for example, in the Enewetak atoll, settlement is inactive prohibited. According to a survey by the National Cancer Institute, tens of thousands of cases of thyroid cancer in the United States were associated with radioactive rainfall from atmospheric trials. Among another things, the negative effects on society's wellness were the reason for the gradual departure from trials. The last U.S. test was conducted in 1992 and the USSR in 1990.

On January 27, 1996, the French made the final effort in the Fangauf atoll (French Polynesia), the last British 1 taking place on November 26, 1991, in the United States. In May 1998, in Rajasthan, India carried out 5 atomic tests. These tests were designed to confirm India's position as a atomic power. Pakistan responded with a series of six explosions under Operation ‘Chagai-I’ and ‘Chagai-II’ – respective days after the Indian force demonstration. These were the first and last authoritative atomic trials of this country – they occurred in Balochistan. The last confirmed test atomic detonation took place on September 3, 2017, and was carried out by North Korea. government Kim Jong Una announced that a hydrogen bomb was then used, but experts disagree on its actual nature.

Demonstration of strength and determination

No atomic charge has exploded on Earth since. This was besides decided by method development. Modern technology allows computer simulations, which reflect the behaviour of atomic charges with extraordinary precision. Programs specified as the American "Stockpile Stewardship" usage data from erstwhile tests and supercomputer computing power to analyse the reliability and safety of atomic arsenal. This makes it possible to plan fresh heads, test their durability and behaviour in utmost conditions – without physical explosions and without the hazard of pollution. In this context, fresh Declaration by US president Donald Trump – who announced his intention to resume atomic trials It seems incomprehensible. Why do the Americans request another test?

In fact, it is not known whether it will actually happen. If so, it will not be about checking whether the bomb “work” – due to the fact that it is known – but about showing strength, demonstrating determination and trying to regain the initiative in the global strategy of forces. To put it simply, this is simply a message for Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang. Signal: “We will not go back. We are ready to take the hardest measures.” But Trump's declaration can besides be addressed to his own electorate. Strengthening the army, a tough attitude towards China, rejecting any treaties – it all fits into the rhetoric of force that resonates well with the conservative part of society. In this take, atomic trials become not only a tool for geopolitics, but besides an electoral run for the Make America large Again movement.