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What happened to the nuclear test sites after the nuclear tests stopped? The US alone carried out 1054 tests out of which 928 were executed on the mainland. Out of an initial lack of information about the dangers of nuclear contamination these sites were visited right after the detonations with devastating effects for the ones who were exposed to nuclear radiation. After this slow yet rude awakening, the sites were left alone for a long time. What is happening to them and how are they being managed today? What is the real scale of the damage and harm that they have figuratively and literally rained down on the population?
The Trinity site in New Mexico, which was the location of the first nuclear explosion, is now open to the public twice a year, with the radiation levels being within tolerable limits. The blast created a mineral called trinitite, which was sold after the war in the form of jewels before being banned. It is now illegal to collect trinitite from the grounds because prolonged exposure to the mineral has negative effects on the health of the unsuspecting “victims”.
After the catastrophic effects of the 1953 “Dirty Harry” air-burst nuclear detonation and the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, all atmospheric detonations were banned, so testing was moved underground. A peaceful use of nuclear devices was supposedly tested in NTS Nevada and Amchitka, Alaska. Scientists wanted to see if nuclear explosions could be used to excavate large masses of soil quickly. Due to the highly radioactive soil that remained in the wake of the explosions, the method was cataloged as impractical.
The Americans also used remote islands and atolls in the South Pacific. 104 tests with atomic and hydrogen bombs were carried out here, severely contaminating the islands, atolls, lagoons and the seabed in the areas of Bikini lagoon and Enewetak Atoll. The estimated costs for properly cleaning up the area are over 1 billion dollars. By 2014, the US had already approved 28,880 compensation claims for the participants of the US tests and affected members of the population totaling 1.9 billion dollars.
While the Americans have eventually shown a measure of concern for the health of the population and tried to make the tests as safe as they could have at the time, this was not the case of the Russians at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan. The Russians claimed that the area used for tests was a barren steppe, devoid of humans. The truth is that around 1 million people lived within a 100 miles radius of the site. They were not informed about the Russian’s intention of blowing up a nuclear device in their area and the dangers that such an act entailed. They were most likely used as unsuspecting guinea pigs for observation of nuclear after effects on the population. After the fall of the Soviet Union the Semipalatinsk site, where 456 tests took place, was left unattended and unguarded, becoming one of the biggest nuclear security threats thanks to the large amounts of plutonium that were left there. In 2012, American, Russian and Kazakh scientists finally managed to complete a secret 17 year, 150 000 000 million dollar project that was meant to make the site safe. These tests have affected between 500 000 and 1 000 000 citizens with repercussions as far as the fourth generation.
The Russian Novaya Zemlya test site is renowned for the Tzar Bomba, the biggest nuclear bomb ever detonated. The blast was 65 km high and visible from 1000 km away. The first plan was to make the bomb twice as powerful but there were concerns about the huge amount of nuclear fallout that would result from the explosion being carried over to populated areas. The site is off-limits today and little is known about the effects it has on the region.
The nuclear tests have put the development of increasingly more devastating weapons above the safety and health of the people. There are noticeable effects within affected people and their offspring across multiple generations. A study performed by the IPPNW(International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) has concluded that the total number of test site nuclear explosion related deaths will eventually amount to 2.4 million. That is the heritage left to us by the test sites, the blessing of knowledge and the dreadful practical application, thoughtlessly and repeatedly performed in the pursuit of the ultimate deterrent or the ultimate destruction tool.
This reminds me of a little-known tale by an obscure writer that I read on a boring afternoon, long ago. He plays with the idea that one day, highly advanced aliens might discover Earth and evaluate the level of social, industrial and scientific development before deciding whether to make contact or not. While we qualify in most areas, the deal breaker will be the nuclear tests performed on Earth, which reveal our savage and self-destructive nature. The tale is a metaphor, of course, but the insights it offers are very real.

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