Abstract
For young people, the threat posed by biochemical or nuclear weapons might feel abstract. But there are many Americans still alive who lived, at least as children, in the time of the Cold War. They remember being marched into hallways and sitting cross-legged with their hands over their necks and heads almost to the floor in a protective position against a Soviet nuclear bomb. There are still even a few survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. They endured the horror of the blast followed by the devastating legacy of radioactive contamination and radiation sickness that lasted for decades after. As this chapter was being written in the fall of 2020, a ceremony was being carried out in the United States and Japan observing the 75th anniversary of this event.
If only I had known, I would have become a watch maker.
–Albert Einstein after the development of the atomic bomb
The risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.
–Madeleine Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Conference on Disarmament report (CD/1219) 1995, “Fissile Materials Cutoff Treaty.”
- 2.
Resolution 71/258, U.N. General Assembly, 2017.
References
Motti, V.: A Transformation Journey to Creative and Alternative Planetary Futures, p. 41. Cambridge Scholars Press, Newcastle on Tyne (2019)
Types of chemical weapon agents. https://www.emedicinehealth.com/chemical_warfare/article_em.htm#types_of_chemical_weapon_agents. Accessed 20 Sept 2020
CDC and USDA Federal Select Agent Program. https://www.selectagents.gov/sat/index.htm. Accessed 15 Nov 2020
https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/bio/1925-geneva-protocol/
Biological Weapons Convention. https://www.state.gov/biological-weapons-convention/. Accessed 16 Nov 2020
Arms Control Association: Fact sheet on the biological weapons convention and national accessions. https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/bwcsig
Reaching Critical Will: 2019 Biological weapons convention meeting of states. https://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/14458-2019-biological-weapons-convention-meeting-of-states-parties#:~:text=The%202019%20Meeting%20of%20States,2019%20Meetings%20of%20States%20Parties. Accessed 20 Nov 2020
IAEA: Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/documents/infcircs/1970/infcirc140.pdf. Accessed 20 Nov 2020
U.N. Office of Disarmament Affairs: Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT). https://www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/. Accessed 20 Nov 2020
List of parties to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_the_Treaty_on_the_Non-Proliferation_of_Nuclear_Weapons#:~:text=The%20treaty%20recognizes%20five%20states,to%20the%20treaty%20in%201992. Accessed 20 Nov 2020
Stone R.: ‘National pride is at stake.’ Russia, China, United States race to build hypersonic weapons. Science Magazine, 8 Jan 2020. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/01/national-pride-stake-russia-china-united-states-race-build-hypersonic-weapons
U.N. adopts ban on nuclear weapons. 20 Sept 2017. https://futureoflife.org/2017/07/07/united-nations-adopts-ban-nuclear-weapons/
U.S. urges countries to withdraw from U.N. Treaty that would ban nuclear weapons. PBS News. 21 Oct 2020. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-urges-countries-to-withdraw-from-u-n-treaty-that-would-ban-nuclear-weapons
The treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on measures for the further reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms also known as the New START treaty. 2020. https://www.state.gov/new-start/
Reif, K., Bugos, S.: U.S. modifies arms control aims with Russia. Arms Control Association. Sept 2020. https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-09/news/us-modifies-arms-control-aims-russia
Blinken, A.J.: On the extension of the New START treaty with the Russian Federation. 3 Feb 2021. www.state.gov/on-the-extension-of-the-new-start-treaty-with-the-russian-federation/#:~:text=Today%2C%20the%20United%20States%20took,bombers%20until%20February%205%2C%202026
Kennedy, M.: Trump created the space force; here’s what it will actually do. NPR.org. 21 Dec 2019. https://www.npr.org/2019/12/21/790492010/trump-created-the-space-force-heres-what-it-will-do
U.N. Outer Space Treaty of 1967, U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs. https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html. Accessed 20 Nov 2020
Fact sheets. The outer space treaty at a glance. https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/outerspace#:~:text=The%20treaty%20forbids%20countries%20from,mass%20destruction%22%20in%20outer%20space.&text=The%20treaty's%20key%20arms%20control,weapons%20or%20objects%20carrying%20WMD
Agreement governing the activities of states on the moon and other celestial bodies of 1979. U.N. Office of Outer Space Affairs. https://www.unoosa.org/pdf/gares/ARES_34_68E.pdf. Accessed 20 Nov 2020
Chinese fishing vessels encroaches on the Galapagos Islands, https://www.he360.com/insight/chinese-fishing-fleet-encroaches-on-the-galapagos-islands/. Accessed 20 Oct 2020
Madi, M., Sokolova, O.: Space Debris Peril. CRC Press, Boca Raton (2021)., Chapter 1
Theodore, M., et al., Aerospace Corporation: Space traffic management in the new space era. Journal of Space Safety Engineering. 6(2), 80–87 (2019)
Foust, J.: Viasat asks FCC to perform environmental review of Starlink. SpaceNews. 28 Dec 2020. https://spacenews.com/viasat-asks-fcc-to-perform-environmental-review-of-starlink/#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94%20Viasat%20has%20petitioned%20the,in%20space%20and%20on%20Earth.&text=Part%20of%20the%20petition%20addresses%20orbital%20debris
Maj. Erin Salinas, 20th Space Control Squadron Detachment 1: Space-situational-awareness-is-space-battle-management. https://www.afspc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/1523196/space-situational-awareness-is-space-battle-management/. Published 16 May 2018
Challenges to Security in Space. U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. https://www.dia.mil/Portals/27/Documents/News/Military%20Power%20Publications/Space_Threat_V14_020119_sm.pdf. Jan 2019
SpaceWatchGL Interviews: Renata Dwan of United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research. https://spacewatch.global/2019/07/spacewatchgl-interviews-renata-dwan-of-unidir/. Accessed 23 Nov 2020
Ray, A.: Nuclear weapons free world peace on the earth quotes. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/55576688-nuclear-weapons-free-world-peace-on-the-earth. Accessed 23 Nov 2020
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pelton, J.N. (2021). Biochemical and Nuclear Weapons. In: Space Systems and Sustainability. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75735-9_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75735-9_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-75734-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-75735-9
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)