RMI Nuclear Justice Documents

Correspondence between Teller and Bradbury in April of59is of interest since Z F it has to do with the labs’ roles during the moratorium and feelings about needs for future testing. dated 23 Mar. 59. The letter from Teller to Bradbury is not here, but it is No. BY-59-35, Among other things, Teller noted that within a period of some months, he feels the AEC labs will find themselves where they may be allowed, either by treaty or by unilateral declaration, to carry out tests underground or in outerspace., Perhaps the letter was asking for some sort of a joint push by the two labs to Washington to advocate these methods of testing and perhaps get more support in preparing. Bradbury's reply on 16 Apr. notes that LASL is not in general as enthusiastic as Livermore as to the possibilities of underground diagnostics and that generally the LASL opinion is that, since outerspace or underground testing will be slower and more costly, this will probably mean that shots will be harder to justify. Bradbury declines to take any active position or seek support along these lines expressing the feeling that the Geneva negotiations, among other things, have events pretty much out of the labs hands. He further feels that attempting to come up with an agreeable joint statement would be a formidable and possibly hopeless task and doesn't feel it is worth the effort. concludes: He "Isn't it certain that whatever decisions are reached in Geneva (or unilaterally) that the labs will pull in there belts and do their best to do the most important things under whatever set of circumstances are allowed? I'm afraid that I'm sufficiently impressed by the present status of the national atomic weapon picture that I doubt if the world will come to an end no matter how the Geneva affair finally goes, What may be a harder problem may be the matter of getting firm support in important research areas that will enable to keep our laboratories vigorous national assets as well as enable us to continue our various weapons responsibilities in an effectively and technicallysound manner."