Nuclear Testing Argumentative Essay

In November of 1992, the 1030th nuclear explosive was detonated in the United States. According to Tom Collina, the executive director of the Institute for Science and International Security, this was the last nuclear weapon to be tested to this date, and for good reason. The U.S. (along with other countries) has suffered many harsh from testing nuclear weapons on its soil and on others’ soil. Nuclear testing’s cons far outweigh the pros, and we can see this much clearer looking back than we ever could when we began testing nuclear weapons. As the U.S. and the Soviet Union blasted full speed ahead in a nuclear arms race, they each tested around one thousand nuclear explosives from 1950-1990 (Cimbala). The desire to become the most powerful …show more content…
The U.S. decided to move testing to New Mexico and Nevada because testing in the Pacific was too expensive (Cimbala). This caused a stir of public reaction. Most of the reaction was very negative, causing the U.S. to come up with supportive propaganda (Cimbala). The propaganda centralized around three main points: 1. Testing was crucial for national defense against the Soviet Union. 2. Testing provided peaceful benefits, and paved the way for nuclear energy innovation. And 3. It was done in a safe, desolate environment (Cimbala). Though these reasons sound reassuring initially, testing on U.S. soil proved to be a bad choice. The fallout created by the nuclear bombs was deadly and widespread. The radioactive particles of the fallout can rise up to 40,000 feet and get blown across a large area very quickly (Zang). For example, fallout that came from the Marshall Islands took only a week to make it to San Francisco (4,000 miles) (Cimbala). And surprisingly, in 1962, it was estimated that everyone in the entire earth was exposed to radiation by fallout (Zang). Radioactive fallout is simply radioactive particles produced by an atomic explosion that eventually fall to the ground. The fallout can be very dangerous if it comes in too much contact with humans or other living things, as it is still an unstable element that can cause cancer

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