Anthropocene is the name given to the current geological period, as in the past we spoke of Pleistocene or Holocene. This new era or period is determined by the changes produced by human activity, biological or geological changes on a planetary scale, important enough to affirm that we are in a new geological period of the planet. Nobody questions that we are already in this new era, the debate focuses on two questions: When did this new era begin? What has been the main human activity that has brought about a change of era? For some it began with agriculture, but for many others it began with the Industrial Revolution. The other relevant question is what markers will be used to identify this change of era? Markers such as the level of CO2, or the levels of radioactive isotopes produced by the atomic bombs of the 1940s and 1950s, current or future bombs and the use of atomic energy, whose trace will last about 4.5 billion years, as long as the Earth is alive, are proposed. From the perspective of the Anthropocene, we have two challenges.
By Tica Font
The first challenge is nuclear waste, which comes from two sources, waste from the nuclear industry, in particular for energy production, and waste from nuclear weapons testing. According to the International Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEA), there are currently more than 370,000 tonnes of waste, of which 250,000 tonnes are stored nuclear fuel and 120,000 tonnes are reprocessed spent nuclear fuel, to which must be added the waste from hundreds of facilities in the process of being dismantled. Ninety-eight percent of this waste comes from nuclear power plants, the rest from hospitals, research centres, isotope production centres or military installations (weapons factories or fuel for submarine propulsion reactors). It should be noted that the military does not publicly report the nuclear waste they generate, their waste is counted in their country’s inventory.
The construction of any form of storage has such unique requirements that a safe, technical solution to the storage of these wastes has not yet been found. The waste has a high thermal power and it is necessary to ensure that the material that encloses or surrounds the waste does not prevent expansion and leakage of radionuclides to the outside. Ultimately, there is no proposal to demonstrate that high-level waste will remain isolated from the environment for tens of millions of years.
Weapons tests carried out, for example, on atolls such as the Marshall Islands, over which up to 67 nuclear warheads were dropped, still contain radioactive waste (some 85,000 cubic metres) that have been covered with a concrete dome, but predicted sea level rise, tidal surges or increased hurricanes as a result of climate change may increase the possibility of radioactive contamination, spreading this waste into the atmosphere or diluting it at sea. Measures should be taken to reinforce safety at sites containing nuclear weapon remnants. In 1979, the Runit Dome crater (containing 73,000 cubic metres of waste) was reinforced on its surface with a 45 cm thick layer of concrete, but its bottom was never reinforced with insulating material, even in its initial stage. Something similar can be found at many sites where nuclear weapons tests or nuclear bomb accidents took place, such as Palomares in Spain.
Our second challenge is to stop the modernisation of nuclear weapons. On the one hand, the aim is to renew systems such as the B-52 or B-2 bomber, to replace submarines equipped with nuclear-powered missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missile systems or intercontinental missiles, which have been in service for more than 30 years. On the other hand, we are witnessing the creation of new types of weapons such as, for example, the development (by the US) of “low-yield” nuclear weapons, with a more limited impact than a conventional bomb, with the intention of deterring Russia; or “low payload” tactical nuclear weapons (with a lower explosive force than strategic ones) capable of being launched from its submarines on ballistic and cruise missiles, without the use of bombers.
The great leap in the modernisation of nuclear systems is the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in nuclear weapons. Thus, Russia has developed a long-range unmanned underwater vehicle (called Poseidon) mounted with a nuclear warhead; it has also announced that it is developing a hypersonic missile equipped with a nuclear propulsion engine, which gives it unlimited range, can navigate at low altitude and high speed, and can therefore evade US missile defence systems. China is applying Artificial Intelligence in its work on “countermeasures” with space-based hypersonic glide vehicles with the power to penetrate missile defences. These hypersonic vehicles have great potential for use with nuclear payloads.
Of particular concern is the introduction of artificial intelligence into nuclear weapons systems. In conventional weaponry, algorithms are being developed in decision-making systems that are not based on pre-programmed rules, but on a model of reality obtained with deep learning neural networks, which is fed with data and confers autonomy to the system. In other words, work is being done to build algorithms that allow the system to identify a target, set itself in motion and attack without human intervention. The big concern is that these AI algorithms will be introduced into nuclear weapons systems. We will need the scientific community to join with civil society to prevent the development of these new weapons.
Similarly, we need all states to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) so that all nuclear weapons are eliminated. The text of the TPNW outlaws the development, testing, manufacture, acquisition, stockpiling, deployment, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons. It also mentions the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and affirms the impossibility of adequately caring for the victims. It highlights concerns about the slow pace of nuclear disarmament and that military doctrines continue to contemplate the use of nuclear weapons. The NPT obliges to provide assistance both to victims and to states signatory to the treaty that were affected by the use of nuclear weapons and to the restoration of the environment.
Anthropocene scientists are already warning us of the consequences, beyond the humanitarian ones, of the legacy of nuclear waste. It is necessary for the good of humanity and the planet that Spain joins the TPNW.
Mr. President, do not leave to others what is in your hands. Sign the TPNW.
This publication is part of the campaign “10 Reasons to sign the “, which unites civil society organisations at the national level with the aim of Spain’s accession to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Tica Font is a researcher and activist at Centre Delàs and WILPF Spain.
