U.S. conducting secret subcritical nuclear tests, group says
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 Kyodo - The United States
is secretly conducting subcritical nuclear
tests above ground in violation of the spirit
of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
on nuclear arms, an antinuclear group said
Tuesday.
It is highly likely the secret subcritical
nuclear tests are being conducted at the
Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico
and not at the usual underground test site
in Nevada, the Los Alamos Study Group told
Kyodo News.
The secret tests are considered to be aimed
at improving nuclear warheads, the group
said, adding the government apparently wants
to use a huge, high-quality X-ray photographing
facility not available at the underground
test site.
The antinuclear group said it also suspects
it is possible to check the performance of
newly designed warheads in the lab tests.
The subcritical nuclear tests use a plutonium
isotope, which is hard to detonate. Lab officials
told Kyodo News they are not using weapons-use
plutonium, but declined to answer whether
they are using a plutonium isotope.
The secret tests involve plutonium 242, and
100 kilograms is enough to cause criticality
triggering an explosion, while testing with
less than 100 kg maintains a pre-critical
condition, the group said.
The group suspects the lab tests are being
conducted at an X-ray photographing facility
called DARHT. The Department of Energy said
in a report released in 1995 that it is possible
to use plutonium at the facility.
The group said the government is not disclosing
anything about the tests at New Mexico because
if it does the U.S. will be subject to severe
criticism from non-nuclear powers for violating
the CTBT.
The CTBT prohibits the testing of nuclear
weapons and calls for the suspension of development
of new nuclear weapons.
The U.S. has conducted subcritical nuclear
tests using small amounts of weapons-use
plutonium 239 at an underground site in Nevada
11 times since 1997, and has announced them
every time.
The latest such test was conducted in April.
The U.S. has signed the CTBT, but has yet
to ratify it.
==Kyodo
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