Nuclear Weaponry

+ The link between uranium mining, nuclear power and nuclear weaponry

Uranium mining, nuclear energy programs and nuclear weapons are inextricably linked.

The path to nuclear weapons begins with uranium mining. Without the fuel source itself (the very same one that powers nuclear reactors), nuclear weapons would not exist.

Once a nuclear reactor has been set up, then the same technology used to power our homes and our country can be used to create devastating weapons.

“Nuclear fission technology is the same whether it is for civil or military purposes - nuclear fuel is employed to generate a reaction, either controlled in the case of nuclear power or uncontrolled in the case of an explosion.

Nuclear weapons require as fuel either:

• highly-enriched uranium, which can be readily produced by the same process that produces low-enriched uranium for nuclear power, and/or
• plutonium which is produced in nuclear reactors. The quantity of plutonium can be maximised by varying the length of time the fuel rods stay in the reactor. The plutonium can then be extracted from the fuel rods by reprocessing.” (MAPW, 2020, p.7)

+The leap from nuclear power technology to nuclear weapons

Throughout history many nation-states have used civil nuclear programs as a cover for weapons programs including North Korea, South Africa, India, Israel and Pakistan. (ICAN, 2019)

Five out of ten countries that have produced nuclear weapons did so under cover of a civil program, and power reactors have been used to produce plutonium for weapons in most or all of the other five nation states (the 'declared' nuclear weapons states).

“Because of the dual-use potential of nuclear technologies, a state with comprehensive nuclear fuel cycle facilities could develop nuclear weapons quite rapidly if desired.” (ICAN, 2019 p.2)

Though countries with nuclear power programs may not pursue nuclear weapons technology, the capacity to do so is still there.

As a country with sources of uranium, we have a responsibility to stop this risk of irreversible destruction to all living creatures before it happens.

Furthermore, by transitioning away from civil nuclear power around the world, we could reduce global military nuclear threats.

+The devastating impacts of nuclear weapons

Nuclear weapons cause extreme devastation in three main ways: blast, heat and radiation.

A single nuclear bomb detonated over a large city can kill millions of people. The detonation of less than 1% of global stockpiles would cause megafires following the blast, which would loft unprecedented quantities of soot high into the atmosphere, causing a decade long nuclear winter. This would result in widespread famine, putting 2 billion people at risk of dying from starvation.

In Hiroshima, Japan, by the end of 1945, the atomic bomb dropped by the US had killed an estimated 140,000 people. A further 74,000 were killed by the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Most people died without any care to ease their suffering as 90% of doctors and nurses were also killed or injured. In the years that followed, many of the survivors faced leukaemia, cancer, or other terrible side effects from the radiation.

“Nuclear weapons are the most terrifying devices ever created. There are currently approximately 13,400 of them globally, with 1800 on hair trigger alert. One or more of them will be used again, with catastrophic and almost certainly unprecedented consequences, unless they are eliminated.” (MAPW, 2019, p.8)

Among the longer-term health impacts is increased risk of cancer in children, leukaemia, multiple types of cancers and radiation poisoning. The vast majority of casualties are civilians who generally have nothing to do with the conflict.

+Australia’s relationship with nuclear weapons

Australia does not possess weapons of mass destruction, but we have participated in some parts of the nuclear chain including uranium mining, exporting uranium and research into nuclear weapons. Australia has mined uranium since 1954, and two mines are currently operating. We have one-third of the world’s uranium, so we are providing a vital component of nuclear weapons to countries around the world.

Between 1955 and 1957 the Australian government allowed Britain to perform seven series of atomic bomb tests at Maralinga, 54 km north-west of Ooldea in South Australia’s remote Great Victoria Desert. Many Anangu (Aboriginal) people were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the lead-up to the tests. Read more here.

In 1969 Australia came close to developing nuclear weapons under the Gorton Government. A power reactor project was approved for Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast. The plan was both to provide electricity and develop weapons if needed.

In 2017 the United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was negotiated and opened for signature. The Australian-founded International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for their work to raise awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons and their role in bringing the treaty to fruition. The Treaty entered into force on 22 January 2021. The Australian Government opposed it at the UN General Assembly until 2022, when the new Federal Albanese Government abstained from voting altogether. Australia has not yet signed or ratified, despite growing domestic pressure to do so.

+Increased security risks

Building nuclear power facilities automatically adds a heightened security threat. Cyber-attacks and espionage attempts on nuclear power stations are a regular challenge for authorities. “The cyber threat has expanded dramatically in recent years, with a series of damaging, high-profile attacks that have made headlines around the world. Nuclear facilities and critical command and control systems are not immune to cyber-attack—such an attack could facilitate the theft of weapons-usable nuclear materials or a catastrophic act of sabotage.” – Dr Margaret Beavis, Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia)

Incidents happen every year around the world involving radioactive material that goes missing or is stolen.

There are also no repercussions for countries that do secretly create nuclear weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has no real power to prevent the misuse of civil nuclear facilities. IAEA says: "It is clear that no international safeguards system can physically prevent diversion or the setting up of an undeclared or clandestine nuclear programme.”

Countries can sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but they can easily pull out of it too if they want to develop nuclear weapons. After 50 years the NPT has stalled, and the nuclear weapons states have failed their promises to disarm.

If Australia was to take steps toward nuclear power and therefore weapons, it would be a signal to our neighbouring countries that they should follow suit and puts us in no position to criticise other countries also seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

+References

IAEA, 1993, Against the Spread of Nuclear Weapons: IAEA Safeguards in the 1990s.

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Australia inc. (ICAN), 2019, Inquiry into uranium mining and nuclear facilities (prohibitions) repeal bill 2019

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Blast heat and radiation, last accessed 15 December 2020, <https: data-preserve-html-node="true" data-preserve-html-node="true"//www.icanw.org/blast_heat_and_radiation>

Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) (Australia), 2020, Submission to the Inquiry into potential benefits to Victoria in removing prohibitions enacted by the Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983.