Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility Condemns Trump’s Call to Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing
Health experts warn of catastrophic human and environmental consequences
Seattle, WA — Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility (WPSR) expressed grave alarm today following former President Donald Trump’s statement on Truth Social announcing plans to resume U.S. nuclear weapons testing — a move that, if acted upon, would shatter a decades-long international taboo and unleash devastating harm on people and the planet.
“Every nuclear test is an act of mass poisoning,” said Dr. Joseph Berkson, board member of WPSR. “The fallout from past tests killed thousands, contaminated communities from Nevada to the Marshall Islands, and continues to cause cancers and birth defects generations later. To knowingly resume that suffering is unconscionable.”
While Trump claimed that other countries are conducting nuclear tests, in reality only North Korea has tested nuclear weapons this century. The United States has observed a moratorium on explosive nuclear testing since 1992, maintaining global stability and leadership in nonproliferation.
Until Trump’s statement is clarified or retracted, the presumption must be that he is referring to a return to atmospheric nuclear testing — the same kind that blanketed wide swaths of the world with radioactive fallout during the Cold War.
WPSR joins medical and scientific experts worldwide in emphasizing that there is no military or technical justification for renewed nuclear testing. Existing stockpiles are maintained safely through modern verification and computer simulation. The only certain outcome of resuming tests would be catastrophic human and ecological damage.
“Radiation doesn’t respect borders or timelines,” said Sean Arent, WPSR's Nuclear Weapons Abolition Program manager. “We’d be repeating history’s worst mistakes on purpose — condemning new generations to cancers, contaminated lands, and poisoned air and water.”
Resuming nuclear testing would also isolate the United States diplomatically and could trigger a global chain reaction. Russia and other nuclear powers have already signaled they would follow suit if the U.S. breaks the moratorium — collapsing three decades of progress toward reducing the nuclear threat.
“Trump’s reckless statement risks undoing decades of careful restraint,” said Dr. Joseph Berkson. “If America tests again, the world will too — and that would take us back to a far more dangerous age.”
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility urges Congress, the administration, and the American public to speak out unequivocally against any return to nuclear testing and to reaffirm U.S. commitment to arms control, nonproliferation, and the protection of human life and the environment.
About WPSR:
Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility is a statewide organization of health professionals and allies advocating for policies that protect human health from the gravest threats — including nuclear weapons and climate change. WPSR is the Washington state chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.
