At that time, more than two-thirds of the General Assembly’s members supported it.
That number has now grown to 183.
Although the support was strong, some doubted whether the treaty could actually be enforced.
After all, what prevents a nation from signing the treaty and then secretly conducting underground nuclear tests?
These include seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide detecting stations.
These are some of the most sensitive instruments on the planet.
Twenty years later, the International Monitoring System is 85 percent done.
In 2006, CTBTOs sensors picked up signs of an underground nuclear test conducted by North Korea.
The totalitarian state conducted two more tests in 2009 and 2013, all of which were detected by CTBTO.
Photo credit: CTBTO Preparatory Commission
Primary seismic station PS21, Tehran, Iran.
Photo credit: CTBTO Preparatory Commission
An expert examines radionuclide station RN20 in Beijing, China.
Photo credit: CTBTO Preparatory Commission
Radionuclide Station RN68 Tristan de Cunha, UK.
Photo credit: CTBTO Preparatory Commission
Sources:Wikipedia/CTBTO/Earth Magazine/Phys.org/WNYC
