Nuclear-free zone
A nuclear-free zone is an area in which nuclear weapons and/or nuclear power plants are banned. The specific ramifications of these depend on the locale in question, but are generally distinct from nuclear-weapon-free zones, in that the latter only bans nuclear weapons but may permit nuclear power.
Nuclear-free zones usually neither address nor prohibit radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear medicine even though many of them are produced in nuclear reactors. They typically do not prohibit other nuclear technologies such as cyclotrons used in particle physics.
Several sub-national authorities worldwide have declared themselves "nuclear-free". However, the label is often symbolic, as nuclear policy is usually determined and regulated at higher levels of government: nuclear weapons and components may traverse nuclear-free zones via military transport without the knowledge or consent of local authorities which had declared nuclear-free zones.
Palau became the first nuclear-free nation in 1980. New Zealand was the first Western-allied nation to legislate towards a national nuclear free zone by effectively renouncing the nuclear deterrent.
Nuclear-free zone by geographical areas
Antarctica
The Antarctic Treaty System banned military activity on the continent, effective in 1961, and suspended territorial claims. A nuclear reactor provided electricity for McMurdo Station, operated by the United States in the New Zealand Antarctic Territory from 1962 to 1972.Australia
Many Australian local government areas of Australia have passed anti-nuclear weaponry legislation; notable among these are Brisbane, capital of Queensland, which has been nuclear weapon free since 1983, and the South and North Sydney councils. Fremantle in Western Australia was the first council to declare itself a nuclear free zone in 1980. The continuing presence of nuclear armed and powered warships in the city's port led to many protests during the 1980s and 1990s. However the passage of such legislation is generally considered just a symbolic measure. The majority of councils which have passed anti-nuclear weaponry legislation are members of the Australian Nuclear Free Zones and Toxic Industries Secretariat which has 44 member councils.In 1998, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act outlawed all construction and operation of nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel fabrication plants, and all other nuclear power in all Australian states and territories. All nuclear power concerns in Australia are handled by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency.
Austria
Austria is a nuclear free zone, when a nuclear power station was built during the 1970s at Zwentendorf, Austria, start-up was prevented by a popular vote in 1978. The completed power plant is now marketed as a shooting location for film and television. On July 9, 1997, the Austrian Parliament voted unanimously to maintain the country's anti-nuclear policy.Ironically, the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency is located in Vienna, and the IAEA maintains nuclear laboratories both in Vienna and Seibersdorf. The IAEA has also established programs to assist nuclear energy projects in developing countries.
Austria's anti-nuclear stance also causes tension with its nuclear neighbors. Vienna is located close to the Czech reactor at Temelin, and four reactors are being built in neighboring Slovakia and two in neighboring Hungary.
Canada
The province of British Columbia also bans mining for uranium, and the construction of nuclear power plants within its territorial limits.Former Soviet Union
Central Asia
All five former Soviet states of Central Asia are parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Central Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone treaty, which came into force on 21 March 2009.Several Central Asian states have civil nuclear activities, including uranium mining and milling and research reactors, but none have uranium enrichment or spent fuel reprocessing facilities needed to produce weapon-usable nuclear material.
Uzbekistan has begun preparations to begin construction of its first nuclear power plant. In 2022, Kyrgyzstan announced it would work together with Russia in order to build a small nuclear plant.
Kazakhstan is planning to reintroduce nuclear power to decrease its reliance on fossil fuels. The 2019 proposal by President Tokayev was backed at the 2024 Kazakh nuclear power referendum, with 73% voting for the construction of a nuclear power plant. Kazakhstan is also the biggest producer of uranium in the world.
Japan
As a resource-poor nation, Japan is heavily reliant on nuclear power, but its unique experience in World War II has led to the wholesale rejection of nuclear weapons, holding nuclear weapons shall not be manufactured in, possessed by, or allowed entry into Japan. These tenets, known as the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, were first stated by Prime Minister Eisaku Satō in 1967, and were adopted as a parliamentary resolution in 1971, though they have never formally been entered into law. They continue to reflect the attitudes of both government and the general public, who remain staunchly opposed to the manufacture or use of nuclear weapons.The Japan Self-Defense Forces have never made any attempt to manufacture or otherwise obtain nuclear arms, and no nuclear weapons are known to have been introduced into the Japanese Home Islands since the end of World War II. While the United States does not maintain nuclear bases within its military installations on the Home Islands, it is believed to have once stored weapons at Okinawa, which remained under US administrative jurisdiction until 1972.
Italy
Italy is a nuclear free zone since the Italian nuclear power referendum of November 1987. Following center-right parties' victory in the 2008 election, Italy's industry minister announced that the government scheduled the construction to start the first new Italian nuclear-powered plant by 2013. The announced project was paused in March 2011, after the Japanese earthquake and subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and scrapped after a referendum on 12–13 June 2011.Malta
A resolution adopted by the House of Representatives on 23rd June 1988 stipulates that “no nuclear armaments shall be allowed on Maltese territory”. This occurred after the Malta Labour Party in coordination with the General Workers' Union blockaded the Grand Harbour to prohibit entry to the HMS Ark Royal, accusing it of carrying nuclear weapons.New Zealand
In 1984, Prime Minister David Lange barred nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships from using New Zealand ports or entering New Zealand waters. This policy followed a long campaign by peace activists which included large protests and the disruption of visits by US warships. Under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987, territorial sea and land of New Zealand became nuclear weapons and nuclear-powered ship free zones. It does not ban nuclear power stations. A research reactor was operated by the University of Canterbury until 1981. Official planning for a nuclear power station continued until the 1980s.The Act prohibits "entry into the internal waters of New Zealand 12 miles radius by any ship whose propulsion is wholly or partly dependent on nuclear power" and bans the dumping of radioactive waste within the nuclear-free zone, as well as prohibiting any New Zealand citizen or resident "to manufacture, acquire, possess, or have any control over any nuclear explosive device." Combined with the firm policy of the United States to "neither confirm nor deny" whether particular naval vessels carry nuclear weapons, the Act effectively bars these ships from entering New Zealand waters.
New Zealand's security treaty with the United States, ANZUS, did not mention nuclear deterrence and did not require unconditional port access. However, after New Zealand refused entry to USS Buchanan in 1985, the United States government suspended its ANZUS obligations to New Zealand, seeing New Zealand's effective rejection of United States Navy vessels as voiding the treaty. The Lange Labour government did not see their stance as incompatible with the treaty and sought a compromise for over two years before passing the Act. Support for the non-nuclear policy was bolstered by the perceived over-reaction of the United States and by the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by French spies while docked in Auckland. According to some commentators, the legislation was a milestone in New Zealand's development as a nation and seen as an important act of sovereignty, self-determination and cultural identity. New Zealand’s three decade anti-nuclear campaign is the only successful movement of its type in the world which resulted in the nation's nuclear-free zone status being enshrined in legislation.
The nuclear-free zone law does not make building land-based nuclear power plants illegal. However, the relatively small electricity system, abundance of other resources to generate electricity, and public opposition has meant a nuclear power plant has never gone beyond the investigation phase – a nuclear power plant was proposed north of Auckland in the early 1970s, but the discovery of large natural gas reserves in Taranaki saw the proposal shelved.
Nordic countries
Nuclear weapons-free Nordic was an initiative by the President of Finland Urho Kekkonen for a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Nordic countries. The aim was to prevent the Nordic countries from becoming a nuclear battleground and a route for cruise missiles in the event of a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and NATO.The idea was proposed first in 1963, in a speech by Kekkonen proposing that the Nordic countries pledge to not procure nuclear weapons or station nuclear weapons in their territory. At the time, among the Nordic countries, Sweden was close to acquire nuclear weapons through a domestic programme, and only Finland had outright rejected them. Finland was required by Article 17 of the 1947 Peace Treaty to not seek atomic weapons, but Norway and Denmark were members of NATO, and the alliance saw nuclear weapons as crucial to their strategy. Despite both Norway and Denmark being somewhat opposed to the stationing of nuclear weapons on their territory, the presence of foreign military in their countries made an absolute peacetime and wartime ban, as proposed by Kekkonen, practically impossible. Sweden finally scrapped its nuclear weapon programme in 1968, due to concerns of a domino effect increase of countries in the world aiming for atomic weapons.
The idea was proposed again in the Détente period of the Cold War in the 1970s, with the background of both the United States and Soviet Union decreasing their nuclear weapon stockpile. A speech made by Kekkonen in Stockholm on 8 May 1978 presented a plan for arms control in the Nordic region, the strengthening of existing non-nuclear status of northern Europe, and a guarantee that nuclear-armed states would not use nuclear weapons against nuclear weapon free zone states.
The idea for a Nuclear weapons-free zone in the north gained popularity in Norway from late 1980, and gained broad cross-party support in government. At a meeting of Nordic foreign ministers in September 1981, the issue was put on the agenda, but received little attention and no future prospects for implementation. this was primarily due to the beliefs of ministers that the zone should be within the framework of NATO and in a wider European context of disarmament, which seemed unlikely at the time.
The Soviet Union was also interested in establishing a Nordic nuclear weapons-free zone, though likely only as a tool to divide NATO. The Soviet Union did not commit to the removal of any nuclear weapons on the Kola Peninsula or in the Northern or Baltic Fleet. This, combined with the Soviet Union's continued occupation of the Baltic states and the Karlskrona incident of 1981, made the establishment of a Nordic nuclear free zone in the Cold War unlikely.
The United States was against the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free Nordic zone, facing the fact that the zone would be against U.S. and NATO security interests.
Nuclear energy is used in both Finland and Sweden.