Impacts of Nuclear Weapons Tests
Last week, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un guided the testing of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Hwasong-17. This launch reportedly flew higher and for a longer time than previous missile tests, landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and was largely condemned by the G7 leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, during their summit on 24th March (Smith & Shin, 2022). While this is devastating news, nuclear weapons testing is by no means unfamiliar to us. We can already expect some level of consequences to either the environment or humankind. The United Nations terms nuclear testing as the 'cruellest' environmental injustice due to its many lasting effects including radioactive nuclear waste causing lethal health impacts (United Nations, 2020).
Specific to North Korea, their missile testings have already significantly impacted the environment, with their tests sites turning into a hazardous and toxic wasteland since 2006, where the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Facility has experienced the death of 80 % of its trees and saw babies born near the region reportedly suffering from birth defects (Ballesteros, 2017). Biodiversity and natural resources have also been affected, where the growth of newly planted trees has been hindered and the supply of fish and flora decreased at a rapid rate following the first nuclear testing. The largest concern from nuclear testing over the years however has been radioactive contamination and leakage (Delzo, 2017). This applies more generally as well, to other incidences of missile testings.
A study by Prăvălie (2014) assessed the impacts of the release of radioactive isotopes and radionuclides on ecosystems and human beings following frequent nuclear testings in Nevada since 1951. Radionuclides are particularly harmful to the human body and biota especially as they are released into the marine environment and undergo bioaccumulation through the food chain. This means that radiation builds up in the organisms exposed to these radionuclides. Although certain radioactive isotopes only remain in the air for about 8 days, soil contamination still occurred through rainfall-runoff and ground storage (Prăvălie, 2014). There is also an indirect transfer of the radionuclides through their accumulation in the food chain, contaminating other marine and terrestrial ecosystems and resulting in unintended exposure to humans and ecosystems. One of the more detrimental impacts on human health includes thyroidal cancer, as observed from the increase in the incidence of thyroidal cancer over the last decades in the affected states. However, this is still being investigated further as there are many other confounding variables that can influence one's risk of thyroidal cancer. In any case, nuclear weapons testing does not bring any benefits to the world, is highly detrimental and has lasting impacts, and should come to an end for the sake of mankind and the environment.
References:
Ballesteros, C. (2017, November 7). North Korea’s Nuclear Tests Are Causing Birth Defects and Destroying the Environment: Report. Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-nuclear-test-birth-defects-704054
Delzo, J. (2017, December 4). Will North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Destroy the Environment With His Nuclear Bombs? Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/will-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-destroy-environment-his-nuclear-bombs-729609
Prăvălie R. (2014). Nuclear weapons tests and environmental consequences: a global perspective. Ambio, 43(6), 729–744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-014-0491-1
Smith, J., & Shin, H. (2022, March 26). North Korea says tested new ICBM, prepared for long confrontation with U.S. REUTERS. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-fired-unidentified-projectile-off-east-coast-skorea-military-2022-03-24/
United Nations. (2020, July 16). Nuclear testing legacy is ‘cruellest’ environmental injustice, warns. UN News. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068481
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