Edit filter log

'{{Refimprove|date=August 2011}} [[Image:President Kennedy signs Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 07 October 1963.jpg|thumb|300px|right|7 October 1963 President Kennedy signs the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the [[Treaty Room]] at the [[White House]]. L-to-R: William Hopkins, Sen. Mike Mansfield, John J. McCloy, Adrian S. Fisher, Sen. John Pastore, W. Averell Harriman, Sen. George Smathers, Sen. J.W. Fulbright, Sec. of State Dean Rusk, Sen. George Aiken, President Kennedy, Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey, Sen. Everett Dirksen, William C. Foster, Sen. Howard W. Cannon, Sen. Leverett Saltonstall, Sen. Thomas H. Kuchel, Vice President Johnson. White House, Treaty Room. Photograph by Robert Knudsen, White House, in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.]] [[Image:Radiocarbon bomb spike.svg|thumb|300px|right|Atmospheric ¹⁴C, [[New Zealand]][http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/welling.html] and [[Austria]].[http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/cent-verm.html] The New Zealand curve is representative for the Southern Hemisphere, the Austrian curve is representative for the Northern Hemisphere. Atmospheric nuclear weapon tests almost doubled the concentration of [[carbon-14]] in the Northern Hemisphere.[http://www1.phys.uu.nl/ams/Radiocarbon.htm] The delay of some years after the test ban of the peak on the Southern Hemisphere can be explained by the time for the propagation of carbon-14 from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere.]] The '''Limited Test Ban Treaty''' ('''LTBT''') is a treaty prohibiting all [[nuclear testing|test detonations]] of nuclear weapons except [[underground nuclear testing|underground]]. It was developed both to slow the [[arms race]] (nuclear testing was, at the time, necessary for continued developments in nuclear weapons), and to stop the excessive release of [[nuclear fallout]] into the planet's atmosphere. The Treaty was signed and ratified by the governments of the [[Soviet Union]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[United States]] during the autumn of 1963. It is officially known as the '''treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water''', but is often abbreviated as the '''Partial Test Ban Treaty''' ('''PTBT'''), '''Limited Test Ban Treaty''' ('''LTBT'''), or '''Nuclear Test Ban Treaty''' ('''NTBT''') – although the latter also refers to the [[Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty]]. The Treaty was signed by the governments of the [[U.S.S.R.]] (represented by [[Andrei Gromyko]]), the United Kingdom (represented by [[Alec Douglas-Home]]), and the United States (represented by [[Dean Rusk]]), named the "Original Parties", in [[Moscow]] on August 5, 1963, before being opened for signature by other countries. The Treaty of Moscow was ratified by the [[U.S. Senate]] on September 24, 1963, by a vote of 80 to 19. The treaty went into effect on October 10, 1963.<ref name="Limited Test Ban Treaty">[http://www.state.gov/t/isn/4797.htm Limited Test Ban Treaty] at the [[U.S. Department of State]]</ref> <ref>[http://disarmament.un.org/TreatyStatus.nsf/44e6eeabc9436b78852568770078d9c0/35ea6a019d9e058a852568770079dd94?OpenDocument Partial TestBan] at the [[United Nations Disarmament Agency|UNODA]]</ref> ==Background== Much of the initiative for the treaty had its focus in what was the rising concern about radioactive fallout as a result of nuclear weapons testing underwater, in the atmosphere, and on the ground's surface, on the part of the nuclear powers. These concerns became more pronounced after the United States successfully tested a hydrogen bomb and a thermonuclear device with the power of eight [[TNT equivalent|megaton]]s of [[TNT]] in November 1952, and 15 megatons later on, and when the U.S.S.R. detonated a [[Tsar Bomba|60-megaton nuclear warhead]], deliverable by a [[bomber]], in October 1961. ==Negotiations== Initially, the Soviet Union proposed a testing ban along with a disarmament agreement dealing with both conventional and nuclear weapon systems. The Western nuclear powers and the Soviet Union traded positions on this issue over the course of negotiations in the 1950s through offers and counteroffers proposed under the aegis of the United Nations Disarmament Commission. It was only later during 1959 and into the early 1960s that the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union agreed to detach a general agreement on nuclear disarmament from a ban on nuclear weapons testing. The Soviet Union, however, only agreed in principle to a testing ban with no verification regime or protocols. It was over what measures and the method by which they could be effectively carried out that caused much of the deadlock in the latter half of 1961 over a test ban agreement. The problem of detecting underground tests – that is, distinguishing it from an earthquake – proved to be particularly troublesome. Therefore the United States and United Kingdom insisted on intrusive, inspection-based control systems as a means to verify compliance. On the other hand, the U.S.S.R. held the position that surveillance and seismic detection equipment operated from outside the boundaries of any signatory was adequate to verify compliance. The Western Powers thought that any agreement not subject to a control system rigorous enough to verify compliance would set a bad precedent in nuclear arms control for future agreements. In June, 1963, President Kennedy dedicated what he would call one of the [[American University speech|most important speeches of his life]], at [[American University]]'s commencement ceremonies, to making his case for the treaty.<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uFhNxX5lrNEC&lpg=PP1&dq=a%20thousand%20days&pg=PA900#v=onepage&q=american%20university&f=false |title = A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House | author = Arthur Meier Schlesinger | pages = 900 | date = 2002 | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | accessdate = 2014-12-23}} </ref> Deadlock ensued until early July, 1963, when Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev|Khrushchev]] signaled his willingness to agree to a ban that would exclude underground testing. In effect, this meant the Soviet Union would agree to a test ban in the atmosphere, outer space, and under water environments. This was the position that the Western Powers had long favored as an alternative to a more comprehensive (underground environment) ban. This opened an opportunity for a three-power meeting among the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union on July 15, 1963, in Moscow. The negotiations in Moscow, reflecting the long deliberations that had gone on for nearly a decade, took relatively little time as the treaty was signed by representatives of the three governments only 21 days later. ==Signatories== [[Image:PTBT Participation.svg|right|300px|thumb| Participation in the Partial Test Ban Treaty {{legend|#00aa00|Signed and ratified}} {{legend|#008000|Acceding or succeeding}} {{legend|#eeee00|Only signed}} {{legend|#ff1111|Non-signatory}} ]] {{main|List of Partial Test Ban Treaty signatories}} Most countries have signed and ratified the treaty. Countries known to have tested nuclear weapons but which have not signed the treaty are China, France and North Korea. ===Leaks of nuclear fallout=== The provisions of the treaty eliminate the possibility of space, underwater and atmospheric testing. All testing was to be driven underground, just so long as the radioactivity did not go beyond the national border of the testing country. Both the Soviet Union and the United States subsequently performed what are known today as cratering shots intended to breach the surface but were carried on the official books as underground shots. Peaceful use test explosions are also banned, due to the difficulty in distinguishing weapons testing from purely scientific ones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/t/isn/4797.htm|accessdate=2014-01-03|author=Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Department of State|title=Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water}}</ref> The most noteworthy violation of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty took place at the [[Chagan (nuclear test)|Chagan nuclear test]] in the Soviet Union, carried out on January 15, 1965. The charge was powerful enough that some fallout rained upon Japan, and both Japan and the United States complained, but the complaints were eventually dropped, and the problem was ignored by the foreign governments.<ref>{{cite paper|title=Underground Explosion Nuclear Energy, Introduction|first=Alexander |last=Bolonkin|date=2013-03-04|url=http://www.intellectualarchive.com/getfile.php?file=TOe6vifJr1D&orig_file=Article Explosion Nuclear Energy2 for Storage 3 8 13.doc|accessdate=2014-01-03}}</ref> Both the United States nuclear test series and the Soviet Union's nuclear test series fired several devices in the 60s which were intentionally shallowly placed, intending cratering effects. None were the size of ''Chagan'', and no fallout in other countries was detected from them. The other accidental releases of fallout during nuclear testing have included the [[Yucca Flat#Baneberry|Baneberry nuclear test]] in 1970, carried out by the United States in [[Nevada]]. The dangerous effects of its radioactive fallout were soon described as one of the "world's worst nuclear disasters" by [[TIME magazine|''TIME'' magazine]].<ref name=bane>[http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1887705_1862274,00.html The Worst Nuclear Disasters]</ref> ==See also== * [[Air Force Technical Applications Center]] * [[Baby Tooth Survey]] * [[Boeing NC-135]] * [[High altitude nuclear explosion]] * [[Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone]] * [[Project Orion (nuclear propulsion)|Project Orion]] * [[Space law]] * [[Threshold Test Ban Treaty]] * [[Vela Incident]] ==References== {{CIA World Factbook|year=2003}} {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.lamberspublications.com/testban_treaty.html Audio clips from President Eisenhower and President Kennedy on the nuclear test ban treaty negotiations] *[http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/treaties/partial-test-ban/trty_partial-test-ban_1963-10-10.htm Nuclear Files.org] Partial Test Ban Treaty as entered into force on October 10, 1963 *[http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552706 Soviet Violations] from the [http://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552494/browse?type=title Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives] *[http://wilsoncenter.org/program/nuclear-proliferation-international-history-project Nuclear Proliferation Archive] {{Nuclear weapons limitation treaty|state=expanded}} {{John F. Kennedy}} {{Wikisource}} [[Category:1963 in the Soviet Union]] [[Category:Cold War treaties]] [[Category:Non-proliferation treaties]] [[Category:Nuclear weapons policy]] [[Category:Arms control treaties]] [[Category:Treaties of the Soviet Union]] [[Category:Treaties of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Treaties of the United States]] [[Category:History of the United States (1945–64)]] [[Category:Presidency of John F. Kennedy]] [[Category:Soviet Union–United States relations]] [[Category:Treaties concluded in 1963]] [[Category:Treaties entered into force in 1963]] [[Category:1963 in politics]] [[Category:Nuclear weapons testing]] [[Category:Treaties of the Kingdom of Afghanistan]] [[Category:Treaties of Antigua and Barbuda]] [[Category:Treaties of Argentina]] [[Category:Treaties of Armenia]] [[Category:Treaties of Australia]] [[Category:Treaties of Austria]] [[Category:Treaties of the Bahamas]] [[Category:Treaties of Bangladesh]] [[Category:Treaties of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of Belgium]] [[Category:Treaties of the Republic of Dahomey]] [[Category:Treaties of Bhutan]] [[Category:Treaties of Bolivia]] [[Category:Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] [[Category:Treaties of Botswana]] [[Category:Treaties of the Brazilian military government]] [[Category:Treaties of the People's Republic of Bulgaria]] [[Category:Treaties of Canada]] [[Category:Treaties of Cape Verde]] [[Category:Treaties of the Central African Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of Chad]] [[Category:Treaties of Chile]] [[Category:Treaties of Colombia]] [[Category:Treaties of Costa Rica]] [[Category:Treaties of Ivory Coast]] [[Category:Treaties of Croatia]] [[Category:Treaties of Cyprus]] [[Category:Treaties of Czechoslovakia]] [[Category:Treaties of the Czech Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1964–71)]] [[Category:Treaties of Denmark]] [[Category:Treaties of the Dominican Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of Ecuador]] [[Category:Treaties of Egypt]] [[Category:Treaties of El Salvador]] [[Category:Treaties of Equatorial Guinea]] [[Category:Treaties of Fiji]] [[Category:Treaties of Finland]] [[Category:Treaties of Gabon]] [[Category:Treaties of the Gambia]] [[Category:Treaties of West Germany]] [[Category:Treaties of East Germany]] [[Category:Treaties of Ghana]] [[Category:Treaties of the Kingdom of Greece]] [[Category:Treaties of Guatemala]] [[Category:Treaties of Guinea-Bissau]] [[Category:Treaties of Honduras]] [[Category:Treaties of the Hungarian People's Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of Iceland]] [[Category:Treaties of India]] [[Category:Treaties of Indonesia]] [[Category:Treaties of the Pahlavi dynasty]] [[Category:Treaties of the Iraqi Republic (1958–68)]] [[Category:Treaties of Ireland]] [[Category:Treaties of Israel]] [[Category:Treaties of Italy]] [[Category:Treaties of Jamaica]] [[Category:Treaties of Japan]] [[Category:Treaties of Jordan]] [[Category:Treaties of Kenya]] [[Category:Treaties of Kuwait]] [[Category:Treaties of the Kingdom of Laos]] [[Category:Treaties of Lebanon]] [[Category:Treaties of Liberia]] [[Category:Treaties of the Kingdom of Libya]] [[Category:Treaties of Luxembourg]] [[Category:Treaties of Madagascar]] [[Category:Treaties of Malawi]] [[Category:Treaties of Malaysia]] [[Category:Treaties of Malta]] [[Category:Treaties of Mauritania]] [[Category:Treaties of Mauritius]] [[Category:Treaties of Mexico]] [[Category:Treaties of the Mongolian People's Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of Montenegro]] [[Category:Treaties of Morocco]] [[Category:Treaties of Burma]] [[Category:Treaties of Nepal]] [[Category:Treaties of the Netherlands]] [[Category:Treaties of New Zealand]] [[Category:Treaties of Nicaragua]] [[Category:Treaties of Niger]] [[Category:Treaties of Nigeria]] [[Category:Treaties of Norway]] [[Category:Treaties of Pakistan]] [[Category:Treaties of Panama]] [[Category:Treaties of Papua New Guinea]] [[Category:Treaties of Peru]] [[Category:Treaties of the Philippines]] [[Category:Treaties of the Polish People's Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of the Republic of China (1949–71)]] [[Category:Treaties of the Socialist Republic of Romania]] [[Category:Treaties of Rwanda]] [[Category:Treaties of Samoa]] [[Category:Treaties of San Marino]] [[Category:Treaties of Senegal]] [[Category:Treaties of Serbia]] [[Category:Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro]] [[Category:Treaties of Yugoslavia]] [[Category:Treaties of Seychelles]] [[Category:Treaties of Sierra Leone]] [[Category:Treaties of Singapore]] [[Category:Treaties of Slovakia]] [[Category:Treaties of Slovenia]] [[Category:Treaties of South Africa]] [[Category:Treaties of South Korea]] [[Category:Treaties of Francoist Spain]] [[Category:Treaties of the Dominion of Ceylon]] [[Category:Treaties of the Republic of the Sudan (1956–69)]] [[Category:Treaties of Suriname]] [[Category:Treaties of Swaziland]] [[Category:Treaties of Sweden]] [[Category:Treaties of Switzerland]] [[Category:Treaties of Syria]] [[Category:Treaties of Tanganyika]] [[Category:Treaties of Thailand]] [[Category:Treaties of Togo]] [[Category:Treaties of Tonga]] [[Category:Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago]] [[Category:Treaties of Tunisia]] [[Category:Treaties of Turkey]] [[Category:Treaties of Uganda]] [[Category:Treaties of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of Uruguay]] [[Category:Treaties of Venezuela]] [[Category:Treaties of the Yemen Arab Republic]] [[Category:Treaties of Zambia]] [[Category:Nuclear technology treaties]] [[Category:Treaties extended to Aruba]] [[Category:Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles]] [[Category:Treaties extended to Greenland]] [[Category:Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands]]'