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It depends on the type of nuclear waste that is being handled. Some radioactive materials emit a radiation capable of penetrating the body (e.g. x-rays, gamma rays, and strong beta rays) whereas others emit energy that is not able to penetrate the skin (e.g. alpha and weak beta emitters). The waste handler must be adequately protected from the strong penetrating types of radiation. The person must also guard against ingestion, inhalation and absorption through the skin.
Nuclear war would have destructive consequences. Even a conflict that involved only the use of one or two fission weapons could cause many hundreds of thousands of deaths and destroy the centers of major cities. Large-scale nuclear war, involving the use of hundreds of thermonuclear weapons, could cause many millions of disasters, destroy nations, and permanently affect the global environment. Although some scholars argue otherwise, virtually all governments believe that the spread of nuclear weapons to additional states will increase the likelihood of nuclear war.Many of the nations that possess nuclear weapons or have sought to develop them have long had regional conflicts with each other. For example, India and Pakistan have had a serious border dispute over Kashmir,China and India had a brief border conflict, Israel has fought several wars with neighboring nations in the Middle East, and Iran and Iraq fought an eight-year-long war. North and South Korea, now separated by a demilitarized zone, fought against each other in the Korean War (1950-1953). These regional conflicts and other potential conflicts provide the fundamental reason for the international community to seek to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.The spread of nuclear weapons can also permit aggressor nations to intimidate neighbours and dominate their regions. Iraq under Saddam Hussein, its former president, is believed to have sought nuclear weapons for this purpose before the 1991 Persian Gulf War. In addition, nuclear weapons could be used as a threat by a country seeking to advance a global ideological cause, such as the spread of radical Islamic fundamentalism. A growing new danger is that a national government, or senior officials within that government, might provide nuclear weapons or the materials for making them to terrorist organizations whose views they shared. While nations differ on the particulars of such dangers, they generally agree that their own security is best served by checking the further spread of nuclear arms.Nuclear proliferation also inevitably increases the risk of accidents involving nuclear weapons—for example,during transport—which could cause great destruction. This risk may be greatest in less technologically advanced countries whose weapons may not include the built-in safety features found in the nuclear weapons of the more advanced nuclear powers. In some countries, nuclear weapon programs can divert scarce financial and technical resources from urgently needed development projects, a challenge that can be severely worsened for states engaged in open-ended nuclear arms races with rivals.
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