|
. | . |
|
by Staff Writers London, UK (Sputnik) Jan 02, 2015
The British Home Office rejected the in-depth study of the nuclear winter effect in 1984 claiming the threat of nuclear war was exaggerated, documents released on the UK National Archives' website Tuesday reveal. A declassified set of documents entitled "Nuclear winter: global atmospheric consequences of nuclear war" has shown that the Emergency Planning Division of the British Home Office, known as F6, ceased to research the phenomenon of a potential nuclear winter, a hazardous climatic effect, despite the ongoing nuclear confrontation with the Soviet Union. "It was agreed with F6 that no assessment of the [nuclear winter] theory would be carried out by the branch and as such our interest is limited to general reading which could not be regarded as following the subject in any depth," one of the documents, dated December 1984, said. Instead of examining the theory of environmental devastation due to a nuclear warhead explosion, the British Home Office focused on the investigation of domestic antinuclear activists. Among them were such groups as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the Faslane Peace Camp and the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. "Data is now collected on demonstrations and incidents by anti-nuclear groups at MoD [Ministry of Defence] establishments," one of the papers from the British archive said. On the contrary, groups advocating the use of the country's nuclear capability were backed by the British government. "Continued government support - both financial and through the provision of nuclear PR material - will be necessary," one of the released documents stated. The nuclear winter theory, also known as atomic winter, suggested that the detonation of nuclear warheads would lead to environmental devastation and climate change. Firestorms after the nuclear explosion would block out sunlight and result in unprecedented cold temperatures. Source: Sputnik News
Related Links Nuclear Warfare Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. |