Nuclear Videos - The Documentary Network

Inside Chernobyl – Current Conditions in Chernobyl & Pripyat (2012)

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:35:12 +0000

Do you remember the catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (Ukraine)? Adrian Musto travelled to Chernobyl to film a documentary about the situation in Chernobyl and Pribyat in the year of 2012.

How to Buy Nukes on the Black Market

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 14:01:01 +0000

On the black market in Bulgaria enough money can buy anything from women and drugs to fully functioning nuclear warheads. Shane Smith and Eddy Moretti shop for dirty bombs in the Bulgarian black market. After you see the relative ease with which they were able to meet a real, in the flesh, black market arms dealer, you'll be stocking up on gas masks and radiation sickness pills. We know we are. Originally released in 2007.

Missile Silo Homes

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:28:04 +0000

In the 1960s, the US government built secret missile silos across the country to protect citizens against nuclear attack. They now serve as homes to the reclusive and gathering places to the adventurous.

Danger Zone: Ageing Nuclear Reactors

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:23:19 +0000

In March 2011, a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. As tens of thousands of people were evacuated from nearby towns and villages, the world waited anxiously to see whether the radioactive fallout would spread across the country, or even be carried overseas. Unsurprisingly, in the wake of this incident, the nuclear operations of other countries have come under considerable scrutiny. One such country is the US where more than 100 similar reactors - some of them in earthquake zones or close to major cities - are now reaching the end of their working lives. Their owners want to keep them running, but others - from environmentalists to mainstream politicians - are deeply concerned.

The Thorium Dream – An alternative Nuclear Fuel

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 07:20:09 +0000

There are many lingering questions about thorium, including sourcing the fuel, regulations, industrial inertia and persistent fears about radiation. While the disaster at Fukushima raised the specter of atomic destruction and pushed countries like Germany and Switzerland to announce an end to their nuclear programs, it’s also proved to be another teachable moment about how and why technologies come to be, and how to improve them. There’s much to take for granted in the evolution of technology, or at least in the way that technology appears to us today – refined, perfected, ever cutting-edge. In the case of energy, where innovation has never been more sorely wanted, what we take for granted are a set of circumstances that are both entrenched and terrible. Coal and oil and natural gas seem like the only sure-fire ways of providing base-load energy, if your only criteria is cheap electricity. Globally, if they don’t look paltry, our energy and resource supplies are becoming increasingly costly to extract and use. Demand has never been higher; ditto levels of CO2 and other terrible greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Nuclear energy is powerful, but it’s even worse than the others, given persistent waste storage issues (these really need to end) and the threat of proliferation. A film by Alex Pasternack

Born of Nuclear Blast: Russia’s Lakes of Mystery

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:28:40 +0000

What healing properties does a sweet lake possess? How can you wash clothes in a lake without soap? Can a lake serve as a salt reserve? The diversity of lakes located in Russia and CIS countries can amaze anyone. Artificial and natural, nuclear and hostile to all advanced forms of life, they present a truly motley picture.

If You Love This Planet (1982) [Review]

Oliver Stangl — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:55:51 +0000

Terre Nash directed this wonderful, Academy Award winning short film about the threats of nuclear war. "If you Love This Planet" combines a lecture by Dr. Helen Caldicott, a nuclear critic, with archive footage from the fifties and this approach works very well. The archive footage – mostly US-Army propaganda material – features lines like: „The power of the universe is harnessed in the new atomic bomb.“ The previous bombs are compared to „midgets, compared with the new atomic wonder.“ Today, the footage might appear unintentionally funny, but the background back then was quite severe. Many thought that a nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States was inevitable and If You Love This Planet takes sides for disarmament; the footage that shows the survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima is shocking to this day. Caldicott also discusses what a nuclear war would mean medically: „This is not a war. This is extermination.“ If You Love This Planet manages to be a message film without being preachy – highly recommended. If you like this film you might want to check out another great „collage film“ from the same year: The Atomic Cafe, directed by Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty also uses US propaganda films from the 1950s – the result is as shocking as it is funny and tells a lot about the atmosphere of the Cold War. documentary.net says: Engaging documentary with a message that shouldn’t be forgotten. Watch this film here

Look Inside Fukushima Power Plant with Robot Cam

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 04 May 2011 18:17:34 +0000

This is the first footage from inside the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The pictures, filmed on April 29 but only released on May 4, show some damage inside the Unit 1 building but no water leaks. The operator was preparing to install air purifiers inside the Unit 1 reactor to reduce radioactivity by 95 perc ent over the next few days, allowing workers into the area. Meanwhile, high radiation levels up to 100-1000 times more than normal level were detected on the Pacific seabed near the Fukushima plant. According to a latest statement from TEPCO on Tuesday, it's the first find of contamination on the seabed since the tsunami.

If You Love This Planet (1982 Oscar winning film)

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:18:52 +0000

Oscar-winning short film on the need for nuclear disarmament. This short film is comprised of a lecture given to students by outspoken nuclear critic Dr. Helen Caldicott, president of Physicians for Social Responsibility in the USA. Her message is clear: disarmament cannot be postponed. Archival footage of the bombing of Hiroshima and images of its survivors 7 months after the attack heighten the urgency of her message.

Who’s Afraid of Nuclear Power

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 09:51:55 +0000

Almost every day seems to bring more horror stories on fossil fuels. We're bombarded with reports about global warming. The price of oil keeps increasing. But with each gloomy media prediction, the nuclear industry can boast: we've got the clean answer. This documentary looks at different approaches to nuclear power. It focuses on Australia and Scandinavia - where attitudes couldn't be more different. While Australia derives 80% of its energy from coal, half of Sweden's power is nuclear. This doc holds the answers to why we persist with nuclear power.