[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12214-S12215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   ANNIVERSARY OF IMPORTANT MILESTONES TOWARD ENDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS 
                                TESTING

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today I want to recognize the 
anniversaries of some important milestones along the road to ending 
nuclear weapons testing. This month marks some major steps we have 
taken toward an international ban on nuclear weapons tests, a 
cornerstone of our Nation's nuclear weapons non-proliferation policy. 
These anniversaries also remind us how much more remains to be done if 
we are to honor the vision of those who have worked to reduce the 
threat of nuclear war.
  On October 11, 1963, the Limited Test Ban Treaty entered into force 
after being ratified by the Senate in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote 
of 80-14 just a few weeks earlier. This treaty paved the way for future 
nuclear weapons testing agreements by prohibiting tests in the 
atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater. This treaty was signed by 
108 countries.
  Our Nation's agreement to the Limited Test Ban Treaty marked the end 
of our Nation's aboveground testing of nuclear weapons, including those 
at the U.S. test site in Nevada. We now

[[Page S12215]]

know, all too well, the terrible impact of exploding nuclear weapons 
over the Nevada desert. Among other consequences, these tests in the 
1950's exposed millions of Americans to large amounts of radioactive 
Iodine-131, which accumulates in the thyroid gland and has been linked 
to thyroid cancer. ``Hot Spots,'' where the Iodine-131 fallout was the 
greatest, were identified by a National Cancer Institute report as 
receiving 5-16 rads of Iodine-131. The ``Hot Spots'' included many 
areas far away from Nevada, including New York, Massachusetts and Iowa. 
Outside reviewers have shown that the 5-16 rad level is only an 
average, with many people having received much higher exposure levels, 
especially those who were children at the time.
  To put that in perspective, federal standards for nuclear power 
plants require that protective action be taken for 15 rads. To further 
understand the enormity of the potential exposure, consider this: 150 
million curies of Iodine-131 were released by the above ground nuclear 
weapons testing in the United States, about three times more than from 
the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in the former Soviet Union.
  It is all too clear that outlawing above-ground tests were in the 
interest of our Nation. I strongly believe that banning all nuclear 
tests is also in our interests.
  October also marked some key steps the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty 
or CTBT. On October 2, 1992, President Bush signed into law the U.S. 
moratorium on all nuclear tests. The moratorium was internationalized 
when, just a few year later, on September 24, 1996, a second step was 
taken--the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, or CTBT, was opened for 
signature. The United States was the first to sign this landmark 
treaty.
  Mr. President, a little more than a year ago, President Clinton took 
a third important step in abolishing nuclear weapons tests by 
transmitting the CTBT to the United States Senate for ratification. 
Unfortunately, the Senate has yet to take the additional step of 
ratifying the CTBT. I am hopeful that we in the Senate will debate and 
vote on ratification of the Treaty, and continue the momentum toward 
the important goal of a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons testing.
  Many believed we had conquered the dangerous specter of nuclear war 
after the Cold War came to an end and many former Soviet states became 
our allies. Unfortunately, recent developments in South Asia remind us 
that we need to be vigilant in our cooperative international efforts to 
reduce the dangers of nuclear weapons.
  It is especially important that the Senate act before the September 
1999 deadline for ratification by 44 countries. If the United States 
fails to ratify the CTBT, then we will not have a voice in the special 
international conference which will negotiate how to accelerate the 
treaty into force. Yet, as a signatory, we will still be bound by its 
provisions.
  The CTBT is a major milestone in the effort to prevent the 
proliferation of nuclear weapons. It would establish a permanent ban on 
all nuclear explosions in all environments for any purpose. Its ``zero-
yield'' prohibition on nuclear tests would help to halt the development 
and deployment of new nuclear weapons. The Treaty would also establish 
a far-reaching verification regime that includes a global network of 
sophisticated seismic, hydro-acoustic and radionuclide monitoring 
stations, as well as on-site inspection of test sites to deter and 
detect violations.
  It is vital to our national security for the nuclear arms race to 
come to an end, and the American people recognize this. In a recent 
poll commissioned by the Coalition to Reduce Nuclear dangers, nearly 50 
percent of voters supported ``eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide'' 
and an additional third support ``reducing the number of nuclear 
weapons worldwide''. In addition, a 1997 poll by the Mellman Group for 
the Henry J. Stimson Center found that 69 percent of voters believe the 
goal of the United States should be to reduce or eliminate nuclear 
weapons.
  It is heartening to know that the American people understand the 
risks of a world with nuclear weapons. It is now time for policymakers 
to recognize this as well. There is no better way to honor the hard 
work and dedication of those who developed the LTBT and the CTBT than 
for the U.S. Senate to immediately ratify the CTBT. Our Nation's role 
as the world's only remaining superpower demands no less.

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