Nuclear Weapons and Public Health: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Headed?

In November 1985, 116 individuals gathered at the close of the 113th annual meeting of APHA in Washington, DC, to form the Peace Caucus. This inaugural meeting of the Peace Caucus followed the closing plenary, “Prevention of Nuclear War as a Public Health Responsibility.” The following year, over 500 APHA members and conference attendees protested at the Nevada Test Site in support of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty as a step towards the abolition of nuclear weapons. Approximately 130 protesters participated in non-violent civil disobedience, including many in APHA leadership positions. These groundbreaking events brought the public health consequences of nuclear weapons to the fore at APHA, and added to the public pressure leading to the later U.S. adoption of a moratorium on the explosive testing of such weapons. This presentation will explore the antecedents to these and related events, and provide a perspective on subsequent developments regarding nuclear weapons and public health. Methods: We reviewed (1) APHA policy (1945 to the present) and the Peace Caucus program (1985-present) on the topic of nuclear weapons; and (2) synthesized the public health perspective overtime related to the following themes: the role of health professionals in preparations for nuclear war; the consequences of expenditures for nuclear weapons; the health impacts of research, development, testing and use of nuclear weapons; global policies and options; and recommendations for preventing the adverse health consequences of nuclear weapons. Our findings and recommendations for future efforts to advance APHA's goal of abolishing nuclear weapons will be presented.