By Jonathan A. Kemp, Political/Aerospace Scientist, USAF Nuclear Safety Officer
It’s been 40 years since I was babysitting nuclear weapons for the United States Air Force. For quite some time I’ve known about the secret and extremely polluted Soviet/Russian NuclearTest Site and their Barents/Arctic Sea Nuclear Dump in the Earth’s Arctic at Novaya Zemlya lsland. On that Russian Arctic island and in the nearby sea there were hundreds of nuclear weapon detonations,,including the largest ever nuclear weapon, the 50MT Czar Bomb, which had a five mile wide plasma fireball and a mushroom cloud rising to 300,000’ (airliners fly at 30,000’).
Location of Novaya Zemlya, including the site of the Tsar Bomba detonation
When hearing theories about global warming, I’ve always wondred why no one ever discusses the Soviet Union/Russia nuking of the Arctic as a catalist for global warming. Plain common sense suggests that such activity in the Arctic could effect the Arctic ecology. But, most likely due to government secrecy, it has NEVER been mentioned.
Now, in 2015, Elon Musk, resident genius and CEO of SpaceX, proposes that we could nuke the poles of Mars to warm that planet! “He(Musk) said it was the most rapid way to induce climate change on the planet.”
http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/2/9441029/elon-musk-mars-nuclear-bomb-colbert-interview-explained
Recently, while reading the November 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine I was immediately intrigued when I saw a map of the Global Temperature Trend for 1960-2014. Unfortunately I was not surprised to learn that the hot spot of Earth’s global warming is the Novya Zemlya Island Nuclear Test and Waste Dump!!
That means that all theories for the cause of global warming, and all proposals to mitigate climate change on Earth may be completely deficient. They have ignored the very real and possibly un-mitagatable consequences of the extreme Soviet Union (Russian) nuclear contamination and pollution of the Arctic.
Earth’a Temperature Trend, 1960-2014, Change in degrees Fahrenheit ARCTIC NUCLEAR TESTING - NOVAYA ZEMLYA ISLAND
Area of landmass effected: 55,200 km2 (21,300 sq mi)
Area of watermass elected: 36,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi)
Operator: Russian Federation (formerly Soviet Union)
Status: Active
Site history: Area in use from 1955 – present
Nuclear tests to date: 224
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novaya_Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya's major test site boundaries and facilities:
In July 1954, Novaya Zemlya was designated the Novaya Zemlya Test Site, construction of which began in October of that year and continued during much of the Cold War. "Zone A," Chyornaya Guba (70.7°N 54.6°E), was used from 1955 to1962 and again from 1972 to 1975. "Zone B," Matochkin Shar (73.4°N 54.9°E), was used for underground tests from 1964 to 1990. "Zone C," Sukhoy Nos (73.7°N 54.0°E), was used from 1958 to 1961 and was the site of the 1961 Tsar Bomba test, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.
Other tests occurred elsewhere throughout the islands, with an official testing range covering over half of the landmass. In a major escalation of testing, in September 1961 two propelled thermonuclear warheads were launched from Vorkuta Sovetsky and Salekhard to target areas on Novaya Zemlya. Interestingly, the launch rocket was subsequently deployed to Cuba.
1963 saw the implementation of the Limited Test Ban Treaty which banned most atmospheric nuclear tests. The largest underground test in Novaya Zemlya took place on September 12, 1973, involving four nuclear devices of 4.2 megatons total yield. Although far smaller in blast power than the Tsar Bomba and other atmospheric tests, the confinement of the blasts underground led to pressures rivaling natural earthquakes. In the case of the September 12, 1973 test, a seismic effect of magnitude 6.97 on the Richter Scale was reached, setting off an 80 million ton avalanche that blocked two glacial streams and created a lake 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in length.
Over its history as a nuclear test site, Novaya Zemlya hosted 224 nuclear detonations with a total explosive energy equivalent to 265 megatons of TNT. For comparison, all explosives used in World War II, including the detonations of two US nuclear bombs, amounted to only two megatons.
In 1988–1989, glasnost helped make the Novaya Zemlya testing activities public knowledge, and in 1990 Greenpeace activists staged a protest at the site. The last nuclear test explosion was in 1990 (also the last for the entire Soviet Union and Russia). The Ministry for Atomic Energy has performed a series of subcritical underwater nuclear experiments near Matochkin Shar each autumn since 1998. These tests reportedly involve up to 100 grams (3.5 oz) of weapons-grade plutonium.
https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/the-effects-of-nuclear-testing/the-soviet-unionsnuclear-testing-programme/page-4-effects-of-nuclear-weapon-testing-by-the-soviet-union/
EFFECTS OF NUCLEAR WEAPON TESTING BY THE SOVIET UNION
Novaya Zemlya became the site of some of the world's largest test explosions after the Soviet Union determined that its test site in Kazakhstan was too close to human settlements to test large nuclear weapons. Consisting of two islands approximately 450 km from the Arctic Circle, Novaya Zemlya was inhabited by nomadic peoples and reindeer before nuclear testing started. Roughly 500 people were relocated due to the testing programm. Most of the reindeer either died or were transported to the mainland, according to a Case Study on nuclear testing in Novaya Zemlya by Carrie Mc Vicker. Testing on Novaya Zemlya represents the greatest single source of artificial radioactive contamination in the Arctic.
A total of 130 nuclear tests were conducted there atmospherically, underground, and in the surrounding oceans between 1954 and 1990. Between 20 September and 25 October 1958, 15 bombs were detonated in the atmosphere over Novaya Zemlya. After the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) in 1963, the first underground test there took place on 15 September 1964. Forty two underground explosions were conducted on the Arctic islands until 24 October 1990. Although the site accounts for only 25 percent of all Soviet testing, the aggregate yield of tests at Novaya Zemlya is estimated at 273 Mt, roughly 94 percent of the total yield for all Soviet tests.
Environmental impacts:
Testing on Novaya Zemlya represents the greatest single source of artificial radioactive contamination in the Arctic. From 1958 to 1962, the large number of high yield atmospheric tests on the islands resulted in radioactive contamination not only on Russian territory but also in Alaska and northern Canada. Norway, located just 900 km away from the islands, also received considerable radioactive fallout and became very concerned about the possibility of the Barents Sea, one of its main fishing areas, becoming polluted. Fallout from all past atmospheric weapons testing is still a major source of plutonium isotopes in the Arctic seas.
Several tests went wrong or caused unforeseen damage:
The Tsar Bomba was the largest, most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. It was a hydrogen bomb with a yield of about 50 MT, detonated on 30 October 1961. The explosion was hot enough to induce third degree burns at distances of 100 km. The flash of light was so bright that it was visible at a distance of 1,000 km, despite cloudy skies. Tsar Bomba caused extensive environmental damage: the ground surface of the island was completely levelled, as were the rocks. Everything in the area was melted and blown away.
During an underground test on 14 October 1969, three devices were exploded in two tunnels with a total yield of 540 KT. In his Database of Radiological Incidents and Related Events, Robert Johnston explains how a gas plume burst from the surface near one of the tunnels about one hour after the test. Several hundred test personnel were in the vicinity and were not evacuated until up to one hour later. On 24 October those most seriously exposed were transported to Moscow for examination and treatment. Over 80 people received doses of 40 to 80 rad.
On 12 September 1973, four nuclear devices with a total yield of 4.2 MT were detonated on the northernmost island. The explosion had a seismic magnitude of 6.97 and triggered an 80 million-ton rockslide that blocked two glacial streams and created a two kilometre-long lake.
Venting at Novaya Zemlya in 1987 reportedly released fission products throughout Sweden, writes Peter Gizewski in Military Activity and Environmental Security: The Case of Radioactivity in the Arctic. The venting produced the highest levels recorded in northern Sweden in 15 years, apart from the Chernobyl incident. Three years later, a second venting produced similar results.
A 1993 study of Novaya Zemlya’s topography by John Matzko, Physical Environment of the Underground Nuclear Test Site on Novaya Zemlya, Russia, revealed that at least one test site had severe leakage due to cracks in the rock formations. There have been indications that several tests caused a significant amount of leakage.
Novaya Zemlya became the site of some of the world's largest test explosions after the Soviet Union determined that its test site in Kazakhstan was too close to human settlements to test large nuclear weapons. Consisting of two islands approximately 450 km from the Arctic Circle, Novaya Zemlya was inhabited by nomadic peoples and reindeer before nuclear testing started. Roughly 500 people were relocated due to the testing programm. Most of the reindeer either died or were transported to the mainland, according to a Case Study on nuclear testing in Novaya Zemlya by Carrie Mc Vicker. Testing on Novaya Zemlya represents the greatest single source of artificial radioactive contamination in the Arctic.
A total of 130 nuclear tests were conducted there atmospherically, underground, and in the surrounding oceans between 1954 and 1990. Between 20 September and 25 October 1958, 15 bombs were detonated in the atmosphere over Novaya Zemlya. After the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) in 1963, the first underground test there took place on 15 September 1964. Forty two underground explosions were conducted on the Arctic islands until 24 October 1990. Although the site accounts for only 25 percent of all Soviet testing, the aggregate yield of tests at Novaya Zemlya is estimated at 273 Mt, roughly 94 percent of the total yield for all Soviet tests.
Environmental impacts:
Testing on Novaya Zemlya represents the greatest single source of artificial radioactive contamination in the Arctic. From 1958 to 1962, the large number of high yield atmospheric tests on the islands resulted in radioactive contamination not only on Russian territory but also in Alaska and northern Canada. Norway, located just 900 km away from the islands, also received considerable radioactive fallout and became very concerned about the possibility of the Barents Sea, one of its main fishing areas, becoming polluted. Fallout from all past atmospheric weapons testing is still a major source of plutonium isotopes in the Arctic seas.
Several tests went wrong or caused unforeseen damage:
The Tsar Bomba was the largest, most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated. It was a hydrogen bomb with a yield of about 50 MT, detonated on 30 October 1961. The explosion was hot enough to induce third degree burns at distances of 100 km. The flash of light was so bright that it was visible at a distance of 1,000 km, despite cloudy skies. Tsar Bomba caused extensive environmental damage: the ground surface of the island was completely levelled, as were the rocks. Everything in the area was melted and blown away.
During an underground test on 14 October 1969, three devices were exploded in two tunnels with a total yield of 540 KT. In his Database of Radiological Incidents and Related Events, Robert Johnston explains how a gas plume burst from the surface near one of the tunnels about one hour after the test. Several hundred test personnel were in the vicinity and were not evacuated until up to one hour later. On 24 October those most seriously exposed were transported to Moscow for examination and treatment. Over 80 people received doses of 40 to 80 rad.
On 12 September 1973, four nuclear devices with a total yield of 4.2 MT were detonated on the northernmost island. The explosion had a seismic magnitude of 6.97 and triggered an 80 million-ton rockslide that blocked two glacial streams and created a two kilometre-long lake.
Venting at Novaya Zemlya in 1987 reportedly released fission products throughout Sweden, writes Peter Gizewski in Military Activity and Environmental Security: The Case of Radioactivity in the Arctic. The venting produced the highest levels recorded in northern Sweden in 15 years, apart from the Chernobyl incident. Three years later, a second venting produced similar results.
A 1993 study of Novaya Zemlya’s topography by John Matzko, Physical Environment of the Underground Nuclear Test Site on Novaya Zemlya, Russia, revealed that at least one test site had severe leakage due to cracks in the rock formations. There have been indications that several tests caused a significant amount of leakage.
As dangerous as this is, what can the world do about it?
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion: US energy independence & export to Europe, etc. With them and others buying our energy rather than Russia's they will have less to spend on this "testing". And the US does not get accused of meddling with other countries.