Editing Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (section)

====Violations and accidents====
Early compliance with the PTBT was believed to be good,<ref>{{cite web |title=The Test Ban Treaty |last=Delcoigne |first=G.C. |publisher=IAEA |page=17 |url=https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/publications/magazines/bulletin/bull15-4/15403500322.pdf |access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> but there have been a number of accidental releases of nuclear debris into the atmosphere by parties to the treaty. Additionally, "venting" of underground tests by the US and the Soviet Union also continued to release radioactive debris into the atmosphere.<ref name=nsa2/> Fully contained underground tests were not wholly "clean" either. Underground testing reduced the risk caused by [[radionuclide]]s with short [[half-life|half-lives]], such as [[iodine-131]], and is generally safer than other forms of testing. However, underground testing may also cause long-lived radionuclides, including [[caesium-135]], [[iodine-129]], and [[plutonium]], to seep into the ground.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Overview of the Effects of Nuclear Testing |publisher=CTBTO Preparatory Commission |url=https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/the-effects-of-nuclear-testing/general-overview-of-theeffects-of-nuclear-testing/ |access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Report on the Health Consequences to the American Population from Nuclear Weapons Tests Conducted by the United States and Other Nations |chapter=Fallout from Nuclear Weapons |publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] |date=May 2005 |pages=20–21 |chapter-url=https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/radiation/fallout/}}</ref>

A notable atmospheric release of radioactive gas followed the Soviet [[Chagan (nuclear test)|Chagan test]] of 15 January 1965 in present-day [[Kazakhstan]]. Roughly 20% of the radioactive debris produced by the 140-kiloton detonation was released into the atmosphere, with some fallout occurring over Japan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/the-effects-of-nuclear-testing/the-soviet-unionsnuclear-testing-programme/page-3-effects-of-nuclear-weapon-testing-by-the-soviet-union/ |title=Page 3: Effects of Nuclear Weapon Testing by the Soviet Union |publisher=CTBTO Preparatory Commission |access-date=12 August 2016 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307205729/https://www.ctbto.org/nuclear-testing/the-effects-of-nuclear-testing/the-soviet-unionsnuclear-testing-programme/page-3-effects-of-nuclear-weapon-testing-by-the-soviet-union/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The US complained to Moscow, but no subsequent action was taken.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} On 25 April 1966, the ''Pin Stripe'' underground test in Nevada (part of [[Operation Flintlock (nuclear test)|Operation Flintlock]]) experienced a venting malfunction and produced a radioactive plume headed towards the [[Midwestern United States]]; the AEC determined that the test did not threaten human health.<ref name=nsa2/>

Another accidental release occurred following the [[Baneberry Nuclear Test|Baneberry]] shot at the [[Nevada Test Site]] on 18 December 1970 (part of [[Operation Emery]]). The 10-kiloton underground detonation created a fissure in the ground, allowing radioactive gas to escape into the atmosphere.<ref name=bane2>{{cite web |title=Three-dimensional Simulation of the Baneberry Nuclear Event |publisher=[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] |last=Antoun |first=Tarabay H. |url=https://asc.llnl.gov/news/news_archive/baneberry.pdf |access-date=12 August 2016 |archive-date=27 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527170837/https://asc.llnl.gov/news/news_archive/baneberry.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Radioactive material released by the fissure reached an altitude of {{convert|10,000|ft|m|sp=us}} and exposed 86 workers to radiation but none at excessive levels.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nuclear Testing at the Nevada Test Site |publisher=[[Brookings Institution]] |date=August 1998 |url=http://www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/nts.aspx |access-date=12 August 2016 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081110112057/http://www.brookings.edu/projects/archive/nucweapons/nts.aspx |archive-date=10 November 2008}}</ref> The incident has since been described as one of the "world's worst nuclear disasters."<ref name=bane>{{cite magazine |title=The Worst Nuclear Disasters – Photo Gallery  |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1887705_1862274,00.html |access-date=31 July 2016}}</ref>

Declassified US documents indicate that the US may have violated the PTBT's ban on atmospheric testing in 1972 by, at the instruction of [[Henry Kissinger]], monitoring and collecting data on French atmospheric tests over the Pacific Ocean, which may have amounted to co-operation with the French program. Declassified documents also indicate that the US and the UK circumvented the prescribed verification system in 1964–65 by establishing a series of additional control posts in [[Australia]], [[Fiji]], [[Mauritius]], [[Pakistan]], and [[South Africa]].<ref name=nsa2>{{cite web |title=The Limited Test Ban Treaty – 50 Years Later: New Documents Throw Light on Accord Banning Atmospheric Nuclear Testing |last=Burr |first=William |publisher=National Security Archive |date=2 August 2013 |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/nukevault/ebb433/ |access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref>

The 1979 [[Vela incident]] in the southern Atlantic may have been an atmospheric nuclear test in contravention of the PTBT by [[Israel]] and South Africa, both of which were parties to the treaty.<ref name=velanyt>{{cite news |title=The Hidden Travels of The Bomb |last=Broad |first=William J. |work=The New York Times |date=8 December 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/science/09bomb.html?_r=0 |access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref><ref name=velabulletin>{{cite web |title=Flash from the past: Why an apparent Israeli nuclear test in 1979 matters today |last=Weiss |first=Leonard |work=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] |date=8 September 2015 |access-date=11 August 2016 |url=https://thebulletin.org/2015/09/flash-from-the-past-why-an-apparent-israeli-nuclear-test-in-1979-matters-today/}}</ref>

On 8 January 1988, Colonel [[Chang Hsien-yi]], Deputy director of [[National Atomic Research Institute]] (NARI) of [[Republic of China]] defected to the United States, and revealed its progress of nuclear weapon development, followed by the sudden death of President [[Chiang Ching-kuo]] on 13 January. On 20 January, David Ding, Director of [[Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office]] of [[American Institute in Taiwan|Taipei Representative Office]], met General [[Hau Pei-tsun]], [[Chief of the General Staff (Republic of China)|Chief of the General Staff]] of [[Republic of China Armed Forces]] in [[Taipei]], and presented the U.S. [[reconnaissance satellite]] images showing a minimized nuclear explosion at the test field of NARI [[:zh:國家中山科學研究院九鵬院區|Jiupeng base]] in 1986;<ref>Director David Dean questioned General Hau Pei-Tsun with the US satellite imagery detecting a minimized nuclear explosion, and Hao replied that, after nearly 20 years of research, ROC military scientist have successfully produced a controlled nuclear test. Hau recorded his statement in the diary and published on Issue 1 in 2000, which was removed from the later issues, along with other cases of classified information." {{cite book |last=Hau |first=Pei-tsun |author-link=Hau Pei-tsun |title=Ba nian can mou zong zhang ri ji |trans-title=8-year Diary of the Chief of the General Staff (1981–1989) |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL13062852M/Ba_nian_can_mou_zong_zhang_ri_ji_(She_hui_ren_wen)#about/about |publisher=[[:zh:天下文化|Commonwealth Publishing]] |date=1 January 2000 |access-date=11 February 2025 |issue=1 |isbn=9576216389 |language=zh-TW |location=Taipei, Taiwan|ol=13062852M }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Chen |first=Wei-ting |date=21 February 2016 |title=電文解密{{nbsp}}... 1970年代 美阻我兩波核武發展 |trans-title=Telegram Decryption{{nbsp}}... US Blocked 2 Tides of Nuclear Weapon Development in 1970s |url=http://udn.com/news/story/9492/1515007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506011809/http://udn.com/news/story/9492/1515007 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |access-date=11 February 2025 |newspaper=[[United Daily News]] |language=zh-TW |location=Taipei, Taiwan}}</ref> then demanded to respect the agreement of President [[Ronald Reagan]] and the new president [[Lee Teng-hui]] to terminate Taiwan's nuclear weapons development plan and to return 699 nuclear fuel rods back to the United States. Under the supervision of [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] and U.S. officials, classified data were confiscated, and the [[nuclear reactor]] was sealed. Following that six hydrogen material explosions and a heavy fire occurred later, it eventually took three years to complete the rods' transportation.<ref>{{cite news |title=桃園6度氫爆 洩輻射 核研所承認26年前意外 當地人不知情 |trans-title=Six hydrogen material explosion occurred with radiation leaks in Taoyuan, National Atomic Research Institute admits the accident 26 years ago, as the local residents were unaware |newspaper=[[Apple Daily (Taiwan)]] |url=http://www.appledaily.com.tw/appledaily/article/headline/20140423/35784041/ |language=zh-tw |date=23 April 2014 |access-date=11 March 2025 |location=[[Taipei]], Taiwan |archive-date=8 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208060110/http://www.appledaily.com.tw/appledaily/article/headline/20140423/35784041/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Huang |first1=Chi-dong |last2=Chen |first2=Rou-an |last3=Huang |first3=Chung-jing | publisher=[[EBC News]] |via=ETtoday News |title=台灣核彈差一步 上校副所長張憲義叛逃引發6次氫爆 |trans-title=Taiwan was one step away from nuclear bombs; the defection of Deputy Director, Colonel Chang Xianyi, lead to six hydrogen material explosions |url=http://www.ettoday.net/news/20140424/349722.htm |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=11 March 2025 |language=zh-tw |location=[[Taoyuan, Taiwan]] |archive-date=14 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614003322/http://www.ettoday.net/news/20140424/349722.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>