Editing Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (section)

== Possible violations ==

=== Fission yields ===
In 2020, the United States alleged that Russia had, between 1996 and 2019, carried out an unspecified number of low-yield nuclear test in underground facilities. It also alleged that China's 2019 expansion of the [[Lop Nur]] test site would allow similar secret testing.<ref name="r8483">{{cite journal |last=Anisimov |first=S. I. |last2=Bespalov |first2=V. E. |last3=Vovchenko |first3=V. I. |last4=Dremin |first4=A. N. |last5=Dubovitskii |first5=F. I. |last6=Zharkov |first6=A. P. |last7=Ivanov |first7=M. F. |last8=Krasiuk |first8=I. K. |last9=Pashinin |first9=P. P. |last10=Prokhorov |first10=A. M. |title=Generation of neutrons as a result of explosive initiation of the DD reactions in conical targets |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980ZhPmR..31...67A/abstract |journal=ZhETF Pisma Redaktsiiu |volume=31 |pages=67–70 |access-date=2024-11-05}}</ref>

The United States also stated the [[2019 Nyonoksa explosion|2019 Nyonoksa radiation accident]] and explosion in Russia involved a "nuclear reaction" i.e. a fission yield, which could be considered in violation of the Treaty despite not being an intentional test.<ref>{{cite web |date=10 October 2019 |title=2019 UN General Assembly First Committee of the United States of America General Debate Statement by Thomas G. DiNanno |url=http://statements.unmeetings.org/media2/21998264/united-states.pdf |access-date=11 October 2019 |website=statements.unmeetings.org}}</ref>

Extremely small fission yields are created during some [[National Ignition Facility]] experiments (see below).<ref name="a031">{{cite journal |last=Hayes |first=A. C. |last2=Jungman |first2=Gerard |last3=Martin |first3=J. D. |last4=Rusev |first4=G. |last5=Loomis |first5=E. N. |last6=Kot |first6=L. |last7=Geppert-Kleinrath |first7=H. |last8=Jeet |first8=Justin |last9=Velsko |first9=C. A. |date=2025-03-01 |title=Quantifying fission yields at the National Ignition Facility using depleted uranium foil experiments |journal=AIP Advances |volume=15 |issue=3 |page= |doi=10.1063/5.0230566 |issn=2158-3226 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Inertial confinement fusion ===

==== Laser-driven ====
There is a question surrounding whether the experiments of [[inertial confinement fusion]] facilities around the world, which initiate thermonuclear fusion in small deuterium-tritium pellets, qualify under the Treaty's total ban on the undertaking of all "nuclear explosions". [[John Nuckolls]], the [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory|Livermore]] scientist credited as one of the pioneers of the field of ICF, himself described the fusion of less than one milligram of deuterium-tritium as an "explosion".

The American [[National Ignition Facility]], the French [[Laser Mégajoule]], and the Russian [[ISKRA-5]], all have a dual-use, supporting scientific research for both peaceful purposes, and for the continual verification and maintenance of their countries' thermonuclear weapon stockpile.

In the 1990s, the Treaty, and especially the "zero-yield" non-criticality standard for weapons-related fission testing, was the impetus for the American [[Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program]]. Under this program, computational and experimental fusion research facilities were funded for weapon verification, including the magnetic confinement [[Z Pulsed Power Facility]], and the inertial laser implosion [[OMEGA laser]] and the 1997 [[National Ignition Facility]]. In 1999 the US [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]], in response to concern from Senator [[Tom Harkin]], stated “NIF experiments are not considered nuclear explosions” and that “the large size of the facilities required to achieve inertial confinement fusion rules out weaponization”.<ref name="l317">{{cite web |last=Makhijani |first=Arjun |date=2024-12-13 |title=The entanglement of fusion energy research and bombs |url=https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-11/the-entanglement-of-fusion-energy-research-and-bombs/ |access-date=2025-02-10 |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists}}</ref> In 1998, Princeton policy researchers published "The question of pure fusion explosions under the CTBT". They sought a ban on testing above 10<sup>14</sup> neutrons, and on the use of tritium, which enhances the yield approximately twenty-fold versus deuterium-deuterium reactions, and forms the majority of the fusion yield in boosted and thermonuclear weapons.<ref name="w892">{{cite journal |last=Jones |first=Suzanne L. |last2=von Hippel |first2=Frank N. |year=1998 |title=The question of pure fusion explosions under the CTBT |journal=Science &amp; Global Security |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=129–150 |doi=10.1080/08929889808426452 |issn=0892-9882}}</ref> These were not adopted, and fusion yield has increased 11,000 times since then.

In 2022, the NIF achieved 3.15 MJ and for the first time an [[Fusion energy gain factor|energy gain greater than one]], equivalent to the chemical explosion of 752 grams of TNT, or three sticks of dynamite, and on a timescale of nanoseconds instead of a chemical explosive's milliseconds. This led to increased concern over the status of such experiments under the Treaty, and the development of [[Pure fusion weapon|pure fusion weapons]].<ref name="l317" />

==== Non-laser-driven ====
In 1992, Russian scientists used high-explosive implosions to trigger fusion in less than a nanogram of deuterium-tritium gas, releasing 10<sup>14</sup> neutrons and the energy equivalent of 60 milligrams of TNT.<ref name="w8923">{{cite journal |last=Jones |first=Suzanne L. |last2=von Hippel |first2=Frank N. |year=1998 |title=The question of pure fusion explosions under the CTBT |journal=Science &amp; Global Security |publisher=Informa UK Limited |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=129–150 |doi=10.1080/08929889808426452 |issn=0892-9882}}</ref> Experiments on fusion in hypervelocity projectiles dates back to 1980.<ref name="r848">{{cite journal |last=Anisimov |first=S. I. |last2=Bespalov |first2=V. E. |last3=Vovchenko |first3=V. I. |last4=Dremin |first4=A. N. |last5=Dubovitskii |first5=F. I. |last6=Zharkov |first6=A. P. |last7=Ivanov |first7=M. F. |last8=Krasiuk |first8=I. K. |last9=Pashinin |first9=P. P. |last10=Prokhorov |first10=A. M. |title=Generation of neutrons as a result of explosive initiation of the DD reactions in conical targets |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980ZhPmR..31...67A/abstract |journal=ZhETF Pisma Redaktsiiu |volume=31 |pages=67–70 |access-date=2024-11-05}}</ref> This approach has been demonstrated commercially by the startup company [[First Light Fusion]].