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[electronic beeping]

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[static fizzling]

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[man] Truly the superpower which man 
has released from within the atom's heart

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00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:19,680
is not one but many giants.

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[female narrator] It's 1952.

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The destructive power of the atom bomb
is still fresh in everyone's memory.

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But now, General Electric

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is touting the potential peaceful benefits
of nuclear power.

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Cheap, clean energy with a host
of other practical applications.

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[man] All are within man's power

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00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,280
in the new world of the atomic age.

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[woman, over radio]
Okay, we're looking around.

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[narrator] What they don't yet know 
are the terrible dangers

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that nuclear power 
will unleash on the world.

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As of 2019, 
over 10% of the world's electricity

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comes from nuclear power.

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The biggest user? France.

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Over 70% of their energy
comes from nuclear plants.

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But nuclear power
produces radioactive waste.

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To date, the US alone
has generated 80,000 tons,

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enough to fill a football field
20 meters deep.

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Waste that remains toxic
for thousands of years.

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And there's a more immediate threat:

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nuclear meltdown.

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So if it's risky,

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even deadly...

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why are we still playing
with nuclear fire?

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[crowd chanting]

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Germany, 1938.

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While Hitler's trying to convince people
about the superiority of his race...

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Jewish chemist Lise Meitner
and her colleagues, Otto Hahn

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and Fritz Strassmann,
make a scientific discovery 

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that will change the world.

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It's called nuclear fission.
But what is it really?

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An atom is small.

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Like, really small.

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If every atom of your hand
was the size of a marble,

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your fist would be the size of Earth.

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And atoms store all their energy
in the nucleus.

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But if you fire a neutron particle
at an atom of uranium, its nucleus splits,

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releasing 200 times the energy
of the original neutron that triggered it.

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And it doesn't stop there.

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The split uranium atom
throws off two extra neutrons.

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And those collide with more uranium atoms,

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and boom, you've got a chain reaction,
creating radiation and heat.

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The problem is,

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while nuclear fission
has the potential to produce energy,

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the German scientists who discover it

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know that it also has the potential
to make a powerful weapon.

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And soon,
the Nazi government takes their research,

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hoping to develop an atomic bomb.

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In response to this terrifying threat,

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world-renowned scientist Albert Einstein
writes a letter to President Roosevelt,

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confirming that a weapon
using this technology would be very bad.

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They must beat the Germans to it.

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The result is the Manhattan Project,

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combining all of America's industrial,
scientific, and financial might

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with support from the UK and Canada.

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The goal? To research and develop
an atomic bomb before Hitler can.

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By July 1945, 
they're ready for the first test,

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at Los Alamos in New Mexico.

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One month later,

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the atom bomb makes
its devastating wartime debut.

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[man] At 08:15 on August 6th,
over military target Hiroshima,

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Bombardier Major Ferebee took over.

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He was about to drop the atom bomb.

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Three days later, a second atom bomb
was dropped on Nagasaki.

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It is an atomic bomb.

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It is a harnessing
of the basic power of the universe.

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The force from which the sun
draws its power has been loosed

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against those
who brought war to the Far East.

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[narrator] The atom bombs
that drop over two Japanese cities

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bring a swift and cataclysmic end
to World War II.

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But wait.

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After the war,
the brains at the Manhattan Project

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say there's a peaceful spin-off
of their technology.

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Nuclear power is born.

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[man] With the atomic bomb,

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American scientists unlocked
the devastating might of the atom.

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Today, they are engaged in the task

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of releasing atomic energy 
slowly, gradually,

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in ways of lasting benefit
to a world at peace in the atomic age.

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[narrator] At peace, perhaps.

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But there's a huge downside
to working with atomic energy.

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Any exposure to radioactive material
in small doses

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could cause cancer down the line

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or, in large doses, kill you outright.

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[man] And now, a men's fashion note

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from the Hanford Atomic Works 
in Washington.

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Oh, yes, this is what you ought to wear
if you move in nuclear fission circles.

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[narrator] But in the early 1950s,

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the possibilities
of this new source of power

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seem almost limitless.

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[man] The future supplying 
of electric power to entire cities

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is far from impossible.

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[narrator] Nuclear power promises
to provide a steady supply of clean energy

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from a relatively abundant source.

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[sputtering]

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But nuclear scientists envision
many more tantalizing benefits.

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Farms will be able to use
irradiated fertilizer

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to increase their overall output.

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[man] Helping to assure 
bigger and better yields

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from tomorrow's farms.

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-[zapping]
-[alarm ringing]

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[narrator] And there are 
potential medical advances too.

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Radioactive sodium
will be able to detect heart disease

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or locate brain tumors.

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[man] Helping to diagnose 
and cure the sick.

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[narrator] But most of all, 
nuclear power plants

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will be a reliable energy source
that doesn't pollute the atmosphere...

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or involve costly fossil fuels.

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The practical applications
of going nuclear just can't be ignored.

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For a time,

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the Americans managed to keep the secret
to splitting the atom

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but not for long.

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Soon, the Soviets figure it out too

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and beat everyone to the punch,

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establishing the world's first 
fully-operational atomic power plant

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at Obninsk, 68 miles southwest of Moscow.

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Europe isn't far behind.

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But one 
of the United Kingdom's first reactors,

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called Windscale,
is soon making headlines.

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[alarm blaring]

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A fire in the reactor

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leaves about 15 tons of radioactive fuel
melted in the core.

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The British government downplays
the seriousness of the incident.

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"Nothing to see here."

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What steps are being taken to see
that such an accident never happens again?

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Industries, like individuals,
must learn from their mistakes.

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We'll learn from this one.

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[narrator] In the USA, 
the first commercial atomic power station

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opens a year later
in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.

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The controls might seem
straight out of science fiction,

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00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:36,000
but the way these early plants
worked is actually pretty simple.

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A nuclear reactor
is really just a massive tea kettle.

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Inside the reactor core,
fuel rods made of uranium

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00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,200
are blasted with neutrons,
triggering nuclear fission.

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00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:55,800
And the energy released
heats up the surrounding water,

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turning it into steam.

140
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The steam powers turbines,

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00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:01,840
producing electricity.

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00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:08,400
It seems to be
a miraculous source of energy.

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00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:15,680
Great strides have been taken in the use
of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

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00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,280
Tragically, little has been done

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00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:24,000
to eliminate the use of atomic
and nuclear power for weapons purposes.

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That endangers the peace.

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[narrator] It's a big problem.

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00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:36,280
The Soviet Union isn't just making
nuclear power plants.

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They're testing hydrogen atom bombs too.

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And so is the US.

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00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:43,840
By the end of the 1950s,

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00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,960
over 300 atomic bombs
have been exploded in tests.

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[man] Surely only a madman, deliberately
courting certain destruction in reprisal,

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00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,680
would dare to initiate
an all-out nuclear war.

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00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:03,480
[narrator] The piling up 
of a nuclear arsenal

156
00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:05,560
on both sides of the Iron Curtain

157
00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:07,800
starts terrifying the public.

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00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,960
Protesters want a nuclear-free world.

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00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:13,480
"No bombs," they say,

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00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:15,440
but also no nuclear energy.

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[crowd] Ban the bomb! 
Ban the bomb! Ban the bomb!

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[narrator] Faced with protests
and a concerned public,

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by the early 1970s,
the buzz of nuclear energy fades.

164
00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:34,280
Investors say it's just too expensive
and too difficult to pull off.

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00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,840
"We'll just stick with fossil fuels."

166
00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:44,400
But then the US dollar weakens
with an economic recession,

167
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:47,800
just as the Middle East
explodes into chaos.

168
00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:50,120
And oil prices soar.

169
00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,760
America's energy demands
have grown so rapidly

170
00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:57,920
that they now outstrip
our energy supplies.

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00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,840
As a result, we face the possibility
of temporary fuel shortages

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00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:04,960
and some increases in fuel prices
in America.

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00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:07,160
This is a serious challenge.

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00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:10,880
[narrator] All of a sudden, 
those fossil fuels

175
00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:12,200
aren't looking so attractive.

176
00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,760
Investors take another long look
at nuclear power.

177
00:11:16,200 --> 00:11:18,840
And this time, they go all in.

178
00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:26,840
Between 1970 and 1985, building booms.

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00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:29,360
More than half the reactors 
in the world today

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00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:30,920
start construction in this period.

181
00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,000
But they don't come quick or cheap.

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The average cost
for a small nuclear reactor: $750 million.

183
00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:42,480
And they can take decades to build.

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00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,120
One of the Soviet Union's 
largest projects?

185
00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:52,240
A four-reactor power plant in Ukraine
called Chernobyl.

186
00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:02,400
But more nuclear reactors means
more radioactive waste to dispose of.

187
00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:03,440
And that's a problem.

188
00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:11,800
Several disposal companies take advantage
of an international agreement,

189
00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:15,840
allowing them to dump 
low-level radioactive waste into the sea,

190
00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:19,160
where it will take thousands of years
to dissipate.

191
00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:20,600
[woman shouts indistinctly]

192
00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:25,840
Protesters insist there's no way
of knowing the true environmental damage

193
00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,520
and put their lives at risk
to stop the practice.

194
00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,160
They're dumping pollution in the water,
nuclear waste in the water.

195
00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:36,840
That goes through the fish.
It comes back to mankind.

196
00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:39,120
I mean, it's, uh... it's disgusting.

197
00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:45,280
Everybody has to question
the right of any government

198
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:47,720
to dump that kind of waste
in these oceans.

199
00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,240
[narrator] In total, 
nearly a million cubic meters of waste

200
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,680
is dropped in the ocean
before the practice is banned in 1993.

201
00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:04,640
1979 is also the year
that the dangers of nuclear power

202
00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:06,920
become apparent to all Americans.

203
00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:09,440
[ringing]

204
00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:13,240
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant
in Pennsylvania.

205
00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:17,680
A jammed relief valve creates

206
00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:20,400
a dangerous buildup 
of heat in the system...

207
00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,360
cooking the reactor's core,

208
00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:24,600
until the uranium melts.

209
00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,960
America's first nuclear meltdown.

210
00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,840
All the radiation
inside the containment tank

211
00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:35,000
leaks into the surrounding area.

212
00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,560
And an estimated 2 million people
are exposed to small amounts.

213
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,480
[man] The schools here in Middletown
are still shut down.

214
00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,880
And the shop windows
still carry instructions

215
00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,280
on what to do if an evacuation is ordered.

216
00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:52,440
[narrator] There are no deaths recorded.

217
00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,840
Still, Three Mile Island will go down

218
00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,960
as the worst nuclear accident 
in US history.

219
00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:02,800
And public support for nuclear energy
in the US nosedives.

220
00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,360
[man] President Carter,
a supporter of nuclear energy,

221
00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:09,200
may also find himself pressured
to go even further

222
00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,400
in cutting back
America's nuclear energy program.

223
00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,520
[narrator] Between 1979 and 1988,
construction is canceled

224
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,920
on 67 planned nuclear power plants 
in America.

225
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:27,800
A decision that seems wise
in April of 1986.

226
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,880
Chernobyl power plant,
inside Ukraine in the Soviet Union.

227
00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,000
Disaster strikes again.

228
00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:48,000
In Reactor 4, a safety test is underway,
so emergency systems are turned off.

229
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,680
But there's suddenly a power surge.

230
00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,640
Control rods meant to protect 
the uranium from melting

231
00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:56,760
get jammed as they enter the core.

232
00:14:58,280 --> 00:15:00,360
And a nightmare unfolds.

233
00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,880
-[rumbling]
-[explosion]

234
00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,600
Radioactive material spews
into the atmosphere.

235
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:13,680
The toxicity of the radioactive cloud
is equal to 400 Hiroshima bomb explosions.

236
00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:17,440
And it reaches
as far as the United Kingdom.

237
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:28,400
[indistinct chattering]

238
00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,560
After Chernobyl, people's fear
and distrust of nuclear radiation,

239
00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,800
the invisible killer, only grows.

240
00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:46,760
Still, supporters of nuclear power insist
that, when properly managed, it's safe.

241
00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:52,880
And nowhere is this support louder,
ironically, than in the only country

242
00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:57,120
that has ever known the devastation
of an atomic bomb: Japan.

243
00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,120
For this island nation,

244
00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,360
nuclear power is the key
to energy independence.

245
00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,920
By the year 2000, Japan generates
up to 30% of its total electricity

246
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:13,640
using nuclear plants.

247
00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,160
One reason,
nuclear energy is green energy.

248
00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,360
In March 2002,
the Japanese government announces

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it will rely on nuclear energy to reach
the goals set by the Kyoto Protocol

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for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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They're on track to build
12 new nuclear plants...

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until March of 2011,
when disaster strikes.

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[woman screams]

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An earthquake,
followed by a huge tsunami wave

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that floods the eastern side 
of the country...

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[siren wailing]

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...including the nuclear power plant
at Fukushima.

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The wave disables the generators,
knocking out its cooling system,

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and once again, meltdown.

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[man] Officials in Japan say radiation
high enough to damage human health

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has leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear facility

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following an explosion there.

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[narrator] The cost 
of the Fukushima cleanup

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is estimated to be
hundreds of billions of dollars.

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And it leaves a vast stretch of land
completely uninhabitable.

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Afterwards, Japan shuts down
all its nuclear reactors

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until they pass
stringent new safety tests.

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But does this latest nuclear nightmare
mark the end of the age of atomic power?

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Not by a long shot.
We may need nuclear power more than ever.

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By 2050, the population of Earth

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is projected to grow by 2 billion
to 9.8 billion.

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Humanity's energy needs
could be out of reach.

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Nuclear power could close that gap
if enough nations adopted it.

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There's just one catch.

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If you've got a nuclear power plant...

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you also have the means
to make a nuclear weapon.

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So which countries are you going to trust
with this technology?

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There are five official members
of the global nuclear club.

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But hold on.

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There are four rogue nuclear states 
outside the club.

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And though most nations claim to be
using nuclear technology solely for power,

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they've all been caught testing weapons.

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So, what's the answer?

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Well, there is a different type
of nuclear energy out there.

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It's called nuclear fusion,

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00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:09,920
inspired by the physics of the sun.

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So, what is fusion?

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00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,560
Instead of splitting the atom,
as with nuclear fission,

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00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,920
it happens when atoms collide
and their nuclei fuse together.

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00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:27,760
The process releases
a huge amount of energy.

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00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:31,840
In fact, three to four times more energy
than fission...

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while leaving
none of the messy, toxic residue.

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00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:39,400
But what makes it possible

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is the incredible heat
and gravitational power of the sun,

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something hard to duplicate on Earth.

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00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:50,360
One way
is by using massive magnetic fields,

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like in this prototype in Germany,
named the Stellarator.

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[in German] I think that when we get
the correct answers here,

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00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,320
we will have a very good chance

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00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,640
to see functioning reactors
within this century.

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00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,480
The fuel is readily available,

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00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,280
so in that way, 
this would be a game changer.

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00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:12,480
[narrator] Progress, perhaps.

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00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,160
But until the technique is proven,

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00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,280
we're stuck
with the nuclear fission process we have.

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00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:24,400
Imperfect, potentially dangerous,
and wasteful.

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00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:30,000
And yet, nuclear power is still considered
to be one of the best ways

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to wean ourselves
off an even bigger threat to the planet...

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00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,120
carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

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00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:44,800
Today, 53 new nuclear power plants 
are under construction worldwide.

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00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:48,800
Opponents say,
"Haven't we learned anything?

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00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:50,880
Why are we still playing with fire?"

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00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,400
The answer may be, "Because we have to."

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00:20:55,120 --> 00:20:58,240
Nuclear power may be
the only way for humanity

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00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:01,600
and the Earth itself to survive.

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[electronic music playing]