U.S. To Begin Nuclear Experiment on July 2

June 28, 1997 Web posted at: 11:32 a.m. EDT (1532 GMT)

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The U.S. Energy Department said on Friday it would begin controversial new underground nuclear weapons-related tests on July 2.

"We're going ahead with our subcritical experiments Wednesday, July 2," an Energy Department spokeswoman said.

The government had been under a court order not to announce any tests until Friday evening, when a federal judge was expected to rule on a lawsuit filed by anti-nuclear groups seeking to stop the $40 billion program designed to maintain the U.S. nuclear arsenal without exploding weapons.

The judge issued no decision on Friday, according to the Energy Department spokesman, Chris Kielich.

Anti-nuclear groups argue that while the U.S. experiments are in line with the letter of an international test ban treaty, they violate the spirit of the pact.

"They're maintaining the ability to break out of the test ban should a future president decide to," said Bruce Hall, nuclear disarmament campaigner for Greenpeace. "Our commitment to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty should be seen as nothing short of permanent."

The Clinton administration says the experiments are needed to assess how age affects the materials in the nuclear stockpile and to predict how the weapons will perform without testing them.

But in a letter to President Bill Clinton last week, 44 House lawmakers urged the administration to drop its test plans, saying that the U.S. program would encourage other nations with less high-tech equipment to justify underground testing.

The first experiment, code-named REBOUND, will take place at the government's Nevada Test Site.

The Energy Department plans another experiment later this year and four more in 1998.