Three test ban treaties aimed at prohibiting most
nuclear weapons testing
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...
have been adopted:
* The
Partial Test Ban Treaty
The Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), formally known as the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, prohibited all nuclear weapons testing, test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those co ...
, adopted in 1963, signed by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, prohibited all testing except underground tests
*
Threshold Test Ban Treaty, adopted in 1974 between the United States and Soviet Union limiting the yield of nuclear tests to 150 kilotons
*
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nati ...
, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996 but not in force, by which states agree to ban all nuclear explosions in all environments
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