Lecture 5 Nuclear Proliferation and the Cold War Flashcards
April 1986: the Chernobyl disaster
Fall-out spread across western Soviet Union and most of Europe
The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel. a product flawed by the Soviet reactor.
Led to uncontrolled reaction conditions + steam explosion
UNSCEAR says that apart from increased thyroid cancers, “there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure 20 years after the accident.”
Nuclear fission products flew into the atmosphere for 9+ days, 134 cases acute radiation
Soviet government initially hid the event; it was discovered two days after the explosion
Huge symbolic significance: decline of USSR; dangers of nuclear power
The ‘Nuclear Triad’ (three ways in which nuclear weapons can be delivered):
- Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs)
- Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs)
- Nuclear Bombers
Reagan, Gorbachev & Thatcher: the Reykjavik Summit and the beginning of the end of the Cold War
The Reykjavik Summit (Hofdi House, October 1986)
- Proposal for total nuclear disarmament of the two superpowers
- Negotiation failed because Gorbachev insisted that it should include the anti-missile shield (‘Star Wars’ system)
- However, the summit set the foundations for major nuclear non-proliferation / reduction treaties and diplomatic steps taken over the next few years; it consolidated the “thawing” of relations between the USA and the USSR (lack of total agreement makes it harder to build their relationship)
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)
1987
Between the USA and the USSR
Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missile
Eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their launchers
Signed in 1987; ratified and came into force in 1988
February 2017:
Russia deploys missiles and violates the treaty
- Russia deploys missile [SSC-8] that violates INF Treaty
- Missile was tested in 2014;
- Obama tried to persuade Russia to correct the violation;
- The Russians moved ahead with the system deploying a fully operational unit
Key facts and figures:
Nuclear warheads:
Approximately 15,000 nuclear warheads exist in total
- US/Russia = 13,800
- UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel = 1,105
2,000 are on “dangerously high alert, ready to be launched immediately”
There is a 4-8 minutes window for each President to make a decision
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
Signed in 1968
190 signatories
Came into force in 1970
North Korea: withdrawn
3 Pillars of treaty
Three pillars:
(1) Non-proliferation
(2) Disarmament
(3) Peaceful use of nuclear energy
Nuclear Security Summit
Held in Washington, DC on 12-13 April 2010
Aim: safeguard weapons-grade plutonium and uranium so as to prevent nuclear terrorism
START 1 = STrategic Arms Reduction Treaty
31 July 1991 signed
came into force 1994
A bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.
The treaty barred its signatories from deploying more than 6,000 nuclear warheads
Resulted in 80% removal of nuclear weapons in 2001
SORT = Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (2003-2012)
Strategic arms reduction treaty between the United States and Russia that was in force from June 2003 until February 2011 when it was superseded by the New START treaty
New START treaty
It was signed on 8 April 2010 in Prague
a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation
New START replaced the Treaty of Moscow (SORT)
It was signed on 8 April 2010 in Prague, Came into force on 5 February 2011
Under terms of the treaty, the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers will be reduced by half.
It is expected to last at least until 2021
Phone call between new US president Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump has told Vladimir Putin he does not want to renew a 2010 arms control treaty that limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons the US and Russia can deploy.
Ratification of Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
1996
Signed in 1996; bans all nuclear explosions in all environments for military or civilian purposes
Signed by 183 states; ratified by 166
China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, US: signed but not ratified
India, Pakistan, North Korea: not signed
Reason for US non-ratification: impact on safety and reliability of existing nuclear weapons/technologies (as it would ban any kind of real test)
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Japan
11 March 2011
What happened?
TEPCO admitted for the first time that it had failed to take necessary measures for fear of inviting lawsuits or protests against its nuclear plants
An energy accident at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, initiated primarily by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011
Immediately after the earthquake, the active reactors automatically shut down their sustained fission reactions.
However, the tsunami disabled the emergency generators that would have provided power to control and operate the pumps necessary to cool the reactors.
The insufficient cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns, hydrogen-air chemical explosions, and the release of radioactive material
