Physicians for Social Responsibility ( ) and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War ( ): Condemn the U.S. Nuclear Test Proposal

Key Chapter Title List

1. Organizational Background and Position Statement
2. Analysis of Trump's Remarks: Content and Ambiguity
3. The Medical Community's Condemnation of the Dangers of Nuclear Testing
4. The Health and Environmental Legacy of Historical Nuclear Testing
5. Lack of Military or Technical Justification for Resuming Nuclear Testing
6. Threat to International Treaties and Arms Control Architecture
7. Warning on the Expiration of the New START Treaty
8. Policy Recommendations: Maintain the Moratorium and Return to Diplomacy

Document Introduction

This report is issued by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize laureate organization, and its U.S. affiliate, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). It aims to provide an urgent analysis and condemnation, from a professional medical and public health perspective, of the remarks made by former U.S. President Donald Trump on October 29, 2019, via social media regarding the possible resumption of nuclear weapons testing. The report places this proposal within the context of severe challenges facing global nuclear non-proliferation and strategic stability, examining its potential consequences.

The report begins by detailing Trump's statement on social media, in which he claimed to have "instructed the War Department to begin testing [U.S.] nuclear weapons on a par with Russia and China." The report points out multiple inaccuracies in this statement and emphasizes its core ambiguity: it is unclear whether the proposal aims to resume explosive nuclear testing, which has been suspended for over thirty years, or merely refers to continuing missile tests with nuclear capability. This policy ambiguity itself is viewed as a dangerous act of escalation.

As medical and health professionals, PSR and IPPNW unequivocally condemn any form of nuclear weapons testing and destabilizing postures. The report reviews the radioactive poisoning and ecological damage left by over 2000 nuclear tests conducted in the 20th century, specifically highlighting the adverse health effects—such as increased cancer risk, birth defects, and environmental pollution—borne by downwind communities of U.S. test sites in Nevada and New Mexico. From a medical ethics standpoint, the report therefore emphasizes that resuming explosive nuclear testing lacks any military or technical justification; its sole outcome would be to cause immense humanitarian and environmental disaster, poisoning future generations and exacerbating current nuclear escalation risks.

The report further analyzes the destructive impact of such remarks on existing multilateral arms control and disarmament efforts. The United States has maintained a moratorium on nuclear testing for 33 years since the 1990s and is a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). If the U.S. were to resume explosive nuclear testing, it would become the second nuclear-armed state in the 21st century, after North Korea, to take such action. This would likely trigger reciprocal responses from other nuclear-armed states, leading to the complete collapse of the global norm against nuclear testing. The report specifically notes that, at the time, there were less than one hundred days remaining before the expiration of the New START Treaty, the last major arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia, and such reckless posturing could accelerate a new arms race.

Finally, the report presents clear policy recommendations. It calls on the U.S. President to clarify his intentions regarding whether he plans to resume explosive nuclear testing and urges him to maintain the U.S. moratorium on nuclear testing. Simultaneously, the report advocates that the United States should initiate negotiations with Russia, China, and other nuclear-armed states to take concrete steps to reduce the threat of nuclear war, ultimately moving toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, and to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The report reiterates that the only way to prevent nuclear war is to eliminate nuclear weapons themselves, and that this is a critical moment to return to reason and diplomacy.