Article Highlights
- Designed to detect nuclear weapons tests, the CTBT’s global monitoring stations have been used to track Fukushima’s radioactive plume, which reached the West Coast of the United States last week. The system also allowed scientists to issue tsunami alerts.
- The sheer utility of this monitoring system during Japan’s emerging tragedy should serve as a reminder to the Obama administration and the Senate that ratifying the CTBT would strengthen both US and global security.
- The CTBT’s monitoring system is supported by country contributions, which are unlikely to continue indefinitely if no progress is made toward securing the ratifications necessary for the treaty to enter into force.
Continue reading at “Fukushima: Another reason to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty”.
