PRESS RELEASE

14 February 2002

Britain to Participate in US Nuclear Test

The United Kingdom will participate today in a sub-critical nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nevada Test Site. Due to take place at 8pm GMT, the test is part of an ongoing programme designed to maintain the safety and reliability of the US nuclear weapons stockpile. The participation of UK personnel indicates Britain’s increased interest in tests relevant to its own nuclear arsenal.

In the past, the British government has acknowledged that it receives briefings on the scope and outcome of US sub-critical experiments, but this the first time the Nevada authorities have openly acknowledged the participation of UK personnel in the tests. The increased level of British involvement in the US testing programme is also reflected by the number of British personnel visiting the Nevada Test Site, which has risen from nine people in 1999, to 40 in 2001.

The US Department of Energy has been conducting sub-critical nuclear tests at its Nevada Test Site since 1995. [Tests are sub-critical on the grounds that no critical mass is formed, so no self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction occurs.] The experiments are permitted within the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which has been signed by 165 countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States.

However, the US testing programme has been heavily criticised on the grounds that the data being gathered can be used not only to ensure the safety and reliability of the US nuclear stockpile, but also to develop new warhead designs. With a decision about a replacement for the UK Trident system needed by the end of the decade, the British government may be looking at possible new warhead designs.

Increased British involvement in the US testing programme comes at a time when Washington’s actions are putting pressure on the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. The Bush administration refuses to submit the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) to Congress for ratification, and boycotted a conference on the treaty’s entry into force in November 2001. In addition, Washington is seeking to reduce the amount of time required to prepare a site for a nuclear weapon test from its current level of two to three years, and is researching the possible development of a low-yield ‘usable’ nuclear weapon.

Dr Ian Davis, BASIC’s Director, said, “In 1999, Tony Blair urged the US Senate to ratify the CTBT ‘for the security of the world we will leave to our children’. Britain now appears to be increasing its involvement in Washington’s controversial sub-critical nuclear testing programme, while turning a blind eye to it’s the Bush administration’s efforts to destroy the CTBT. While the safety and reliability of the UK nuclear arsenal is of paramount importance, this should not conflict with Britain’s disarmament commitments, nor block the Government from raising objections to US policy.”

For more information please contact 
Mark Bromley in London on +44 (0)207 407 2977 or 
Christine Kucia in Washington on +1 202 347 8340

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

US Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office 

Background on the CTBT, a resource page from BASIC 

“Does the U.S. Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship Program Pose a
Proliferation Threat?”, in-depth article by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 1998.

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