Thursday 16 July marks the 64th anniversary of the world's first nuclear weapons test – the Trinity bomb in New Mexico.
 
"64 years ago today the world changed utterly with the exploding of the first nuclear weapon in New Mexico," said ICAN spokesperson, Dr. Bill Williams.
 
"Within a month this new destructive power was used on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing around 200,000 deaths and a human legacy that continues today.
 
"As Australia moves to expand it's uranium industry, now is an important time to pause and reflect on the birth of the nuclear industry and the profound and unresolved issues of radioactive waste and nuclear weapons proliferation.
 
Any nation with the capacity for a civilian nuclear program has the potential to create nuclear weapons. The Australian Government's decision to approve a new uranium mine will further contribute to a global industry that's unsafe, outdated and unnecessary," concluded Dr. Williams.
 
View archive footage of the first nuclear test and comment from Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, Scientific Director of the Manhattan Project: