Organization of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
| Preparatory Commission for the Organization of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO PrepCom) |
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 Seat of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission in the Vienna International Center in Vienna |
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| Organization type | autonomous organization |
| Abbreviation | CTBTO PrepCom |
| management | Lassina Zerbo |
| status | 184 signatory states out of 196 member states, of which 168 ratified |
| Founded | November 19, 1996 |
| Headquarters | Vienna , Austria |
| www.ctbto.org | |
The Organization of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty ( CTBTO; Engl. : Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization ), a yet to be built International Organization be associated with the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty start work (CTBT) and then the Monitor compliance with this contract. In order for the treaty to come into force, at least 44 so-called nuclear capable states must ratify.
Preparatory Commission CTBTO PrepCom
Until the CTBT came into force, the Preparatory Commission for the Organization of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty ( CTBTO PrepCom) has been in place since 1997 ; (English: Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, abbreviated as: CTBTO Preparatory Commission ) based in the Vienna International Center (VIC) in Vienna , Austria, was charged with establishing a worldwide control network. Lassina Zerbo from Burkina Faso heads the organization.
To this end, the commission runs two working groups:
- Working group A
- for the annual financial budget, employee questions, legal matters, human resources.
- Working group B
- for verification of compliance with the contract. This includes the construction and operation of the International Monitoring System ( International Monitoring System , IMS), the International Data Center ( International Data Center , IDC), the preparation and later the control of on-site inspections ( on-site inspections , OSI) and the development and maintenance of the respective manuals.
Furthermore, the preparation Commission comprises Provisional Technical Secretariat ( Provisional Technical Secretariat , PTS), which is the precursor organization for a technical secretariat until the CTBT completely enters into force.
The Preparatory Commission was founded by a resolution of the signatory states of the CTBT on November 19, 1996 and enjoys the status of an international organization . Despite close relations with the United Nations , it is not a specialized UN agency . With the entry into force of the CTBT and the establishment of the CTBTO, the preparatory commission will be dissolved.
tasks
monitoring
The international monitoring system IMS (International Monitoring System) should consist of the following four worldwide measuring networks:
- 50 primary and 120 secondary seismological measuring stations, whose technology is able to differentiate nuclear explosions from earthquakes or other tremors. Primary measuring stations continuously supply data, while secondary stations only transmit data on request.
- 11 stations for hydroacoustic monitoring , which listen to the oceans with special sensors for sound waves.
- A network of 60 infrasound stations uses highly sensitive barometers to measure air pressure fluctuations that are no longer perceptible to the human ear as sound. Each station should be equipped with at least four barometers, which are distributed over an area with a diameter of about 2.5 kilometers. Every single barometer still registers pressure differences of only one billionth of normal atmospheric pressure. Due to the spatial distribution of these extremely sensitive barometers, even the weakest signals can still be recorded. Sound waves generated by supersonic aircraft when penetrating the sound barrier can be clearly distinguished from test attempts with nuclear weapons .
- 80 stations with radionuclide detectors record special radioactive particles that are only released in atomic bomb explosions , 40 of these stations also monitor the concentration of radioactive noble gases
All data are brought together, stored and evaluated in the International Data Center (IDC) in Vienna .
By May 2012, more than 280 of a total of 337 measuring stations (around 85%) had already been installed and functioning. With the establishment and maintenance of the seismological and acoustic infra plants in Germany is Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hannover commissioned. The radiological measuring station on the Schauinsland is operated by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection .
North Korean nuclear weapons tests 2006 and 2009
On the morning of October 9, 2006, North Korea carried out a nuclear weapons test in the northeast of the country. The international monitoring system of the CTBTO recorded the explosion with 22 seismic stations. Within two hours, the CTBTO member states received initial information on the time, location and strength of the explosion. Two weeks later, a radionuclide measuring station in Yellowknife, Canada, recorded traces of a radioactive isotope of the noble gas xenon in the air. With the help of atmospheric transport calculations, North Korea could be localized as the only possible place of origin of the noble gas. The presence of radioactive xenon is evidence of an atomic explosion.
North Korea conducted a second nuclear test on May 25, 2009. Significantly more seismic stations of the CTBTO - 61 - registered the event compared to 2006, on the one hand due to the stronger explosion and on the other hand due to the progress in the construction of the measuring stations. The area for a potential on-site inspection could therefore be narrowed down more precisely: In 2009 this area was 264 km² compared to 880 km² in 2006.
Civil applications
The measurement data of the IMS are also of interest for civil and scientific applications, in addition to the actual contractual purpose. Thanks to the highly sensitive monitoring systems and its own data transmission network, the CTBTO can provide valuable data for tsunami warning organizations, especially seismic data. A corresponding resolution to regulate this data transfer was passed in 2006. Due to relevant agreements, tsunami warning centers in 8 mostly Indo-Pacific countries currently have direct access to the relevant CTBTO measurement data.
During the Fukushima nuclear disaster in spring 2011, over 40 CTBTO radionuclide stations recorded the global spread of radioactive isotopes from the destroyed nuclear power plant in Japan. The airburst of the Chelyabinsk meteor could also be detected by infrasound measuring points.
CTBTO measurement data are available to all 183 Member States. Over 1200 scientific and academic institutions in 120 countries are currently taking advantage of this offer.
The measurement data collected can also be used in a wide range of areas, including civil aviation and shipping, research into the oceans, volcanoes and climate change.
On-site investigations
The Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) is also preparing possible on-site examinations ( English on-site inspections ) prior to the entry into force of the Treaty on suspicion of a breach of contract to investigate the nature of suspicious events. Various methods can then be used to search for traces of nuclear weapons tests on site within a short period of time, although various contractual requirements must be observed.
The Technical Secretariat itself does not decide on breaches of contract, but is instructed to provide the member states with all data and evaluations for the assessment of possible events. If they come to the conclusion that there has been a breach of contract, they can recommend appropriate action under international law and refer the case to the United Nations. These regulations will only apply after they come into force.
Web links
- The website CTBTO Preparatory Commission (English)
- German National Data Center (NDC) on the website of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).
- Nuclear weapons test stop on the website of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).
- Nuclear tests: 20 years of hope for a permanent stop. Ratification of eight states, including the USA, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea still pending. In: WZ Online / APA , June 13, 2016.
Individual evidence
- ^ Status of Signature and Ratification. CTBTO Preparatory Commission website, accessed April 18, 2019.
- ↑ 13 nuclear capable states have not ratified the treaty: CTBTO in Vienna for five years. In: Wiener Zeitung , March 19, 2002 in the version April 6, 2005, accessed on April 18, 2019.
- ^ Establishment, Purpose and Activities. CTBTO Preparatory Commission website, accessed April 18, 2019.
- ↑ Cf. also: "Preparatory Commission for the Organization of the Treaty on Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban (CTBTO PrepCom): Preparations for the implementation of the Treaty on Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban (CTBT), which covers all nuclear weapons tests on earth, in the atmosphere, prohibited under water and underground. CTBTO is building a global verification system with 337 monitoring stations to ensure that no nuclear explosions go undetected. The control data is also used for non-verification purposes such as tsunami warnings and worldwide radiation monitoring. ”In: The following organizations and offices are located in the VIC on the website of the United Nations in Vienna, accessed on April 18, 2019.
- ↑ Radionuclide Monitoring. And: radionuclide data processing and analysis. Both: CTBTO Preparatory Commission website, accessed March 27, 2011.
- ↑ CTBT: Ending Nuclear Explosions (PDF; 3.3 MB). Fact Sheet on the CTBTO Preparatory Commission website, accessed May 23, 2012
- ↑ The CTBT Verification Regime Put to the Test - The Event in the DPRK on October 9, 2006. CTBTO Preparatory Commission website, October 2006, accessed May 23, 2012.
- ↑ CTBTO's Initial Findings on the DPRK's 2009 Announced Nuclear Test. CTBTO Preparatory Commission press release, 2009, accessed May 23, 2012.
- ^ Experts Sure about Nature of the DPRK Event. CTBTO Preparatory Commission website, 2009, accessed May 23, 2012.
- ↑ Animation: CTBTO Tracks Fukushima's Radioactive Release. CTBTO Preparatory Commission YouTube Channel, accessed May 23, 2012.
- ↑ Russian meteor largest in a century nature.com
- ↑ CTBTO Infrasound Stations Detect Russian Meteorite Blast. CTBTO Preparatory Commission website, February 15, 2013.
- ↑ CTBTO to Share Data with IAEA and WHO. CTBTO Preparatory Commission press release, 2011, accessed May 23, 2012.
- ↑ Potential Civil and Scientific Applications of CTBT Verification Data and Technologies ( Memento of May 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Website of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, accessed on May 23, 2012.