Atomic Scientists Associations

The British Atomic Scientists Association (ASA or BASA) was a politically neutral group of scientists who were concerned with matters of British public policy regarding the applications and dangers of nuclear physics. It was formed in 1946 by Joseph Rotblat.

Joseph Rotblat called the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a "wanton barbaric act" which prompted him to form BASA, and they, along with their American counterpart, the Federation of American Scientists, tried to educate the public about nuclear physics, and warning them about the negative consequences of an international arms race. They attempted to influence governments, but governments ignored their warnings, and nuclear weapons development escalated.

Only BASAs fellow scientists paid attention to their warnings, not the larger audience they were trying to reach. It was also too politically neutral for some of its vice-presidents, and after facing a decline in membership and finncial difficulties, in 1959 the association was finally dissolved.