This week, PAX presented ‘The Rotterdam Blast’ report. The report describes the impact of a nuclear explosion in Rotterdam. The scenario draws a disturbing picture of the effects of a nuclear explosion on humans, the environment, society and the economy. One thing is clear: no society can prepare itself for the impact of a nuclear explosion.
Are nuclear weapons still necessary for (military) security? Or do they actually compromise security? In ‘The Rotterdam blast’, a nuclear bomb explodes. PAX describes the scenario from the first seconds to the first hours that follow. The effects are also described. “In doing so, we want to show how risky these weapons actually are,” says Wilbert van der Zeijden, one of the authors of the report. “The use of weapons of mass destruction is always difficult to imagine. By placing the scenario in Rotterdam, we make it clear to Dutch people what the humanitarian effects of nuclear weapons are. These weapons are also located on Dutch soil. Twenty years after the end of the Cold War, they are really no longer needed. It is time for a ban.
“PAX thinks the minster should take responsibility. Now that the nuclear weapons at the military base in Volkel are due to be modernised, it is a good time to let the United States know that the Netherlands, just like 185 other countries, no longer wants nuclear weapons within its borders.”
Download the report The Rotterdam Blast
Press release
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