Since the first nuclear test at Alamagordo, New Mexico in
July 1945, the five nuclear weapons states, the United
States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China have
conducted over 2,000 tests. Every test, costing up to
$70 million each, helped to add new generations of
weapons to arsenals of the nuclear states.
In September 1996, the text for a Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty (CTBT) was finally agreed at the United Nations in
New York. By mid-October, a total of 125 countries had
signed.
For the treaty to enter into force at the earliest
possible opportunity (October 1998) all 44 countries on
the entry-into-force list needed to have ratified the
treaty before the end of April 1998.
