FACT BRIEFDid the US government conduct nuclear bomb tests in Nevada?
YES
Between 1951 and 1992, the U.S. government conducted a total of 1,021 nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site 65 miles north of Las Vegas.
One hundred were detonated in the atmosphere before President John F. Kennedy signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963, which limited nuclear testing to contained underground detonations.
The U.S. had several nuclear test sites, including in Colorado, New Mexico, Mississippi and Alaska. The precise impact of this testing on human health is debated, but researchers with the National Cancer Institute, American Scientist magazine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledge a small but significant increased risk of developing certain types of cancers from exposure to the fallout.
On Sept. 23, 1992, the U.S. conducted its last nuclear test. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was adopted by the United Nations in 1996, but it has not yet entered into force, as eight countries, including the U.S. and China, have yet to ratify it.
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Sources
Nuclear Museum Nevada Test Site
Atomic Archive Nuclear Test Sites
Lippincott Research Projected Cancer Risks to Residents of New Mexico from Exposure to Trinity Radioactive Fallout
Centers for Disease Control Radioactive Fallout from Global Weapons Testing
National Cancer Institute Fallout from Nuclear Weapons Tests and Cancer Risks
United Nations Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
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