Pandora’s Promise is a very interesting documentary that explores the view of various environmental activists on nuclear reactors. The documentary investigates and dismantles various myths about nuclear reactors that have led the majority of society to have a negative view of nuclear reactors. The film began with environmental activities stating why they used to think that nuclear energy was unsafe but over time they came into realization that nuclear energy was actually advantageous regardless of all the bad myths said about this renewable energy. The documentary explores 3 events that instilled a bad image of nuclear power plants, which are Chernobyl, The Three Mile Island, and the most recent the Fukushima disaster. Before discussing these 3 disasters, the film listed some very interesting and eye opening facts of nuclear energy. Nuclear Energy has been discovered to be the 2^nd most safest energy source. As stated by one of the Environmentalists, anyone who is against Nuclear Energy is a supporter of coal and oil fossil fuels, which are just as dangerous. It was also discussed how apiece of uranium the size of a thumb has enough energy to output the same energy as 5000 barrels of oil. Such an astonishing fact makes it very evident that nuclear energy has the ability of saving tons of CO₂ from being emitted into the atmosphere.

 

 

The documentary begins breaking down each event starting with Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. In 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded which resulted in a lot of radioactive particles being released into the atmosphere. The local community was forced to evacuate the area because it was contaminated with radioactive material. From the Chernobyl disaster less than 50 people died from radiation poisoning. Anti-Nuclear Energy activist have stated that millions of people have died as a result of the disaster, which in reality is a false accusation. It also important to understand that the current image of the local town around the Nuclear power plant is not a result of the radiation but of natural breakdown of the house materials. Some occupants of the local community decided to come back after the evacuation and start their lives again within the contaminated area. A priest of the community stated that he has been living there for the past 25 years and no one has died as a result of radiation contamination.

 

 

 

 

In The Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor a meltdown resulted in the power plant shutting down. But unlike Chernobyl, the event was able to be contained within the building and not allow spreading of radiation. No one died nor got injured in this disaster. The cause of both the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl was an inadequate cooling system, which resulted in a meltdown and an explosion at Chernobyl. In the Fukushima disaster, the power plant’s cooling system was damaged as a result of an earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This resulted in radioactive materials being released into the atmosphere.

 

Most of disasters of Nuclear Power Plants have been a result of bad design to contain any disasters that could happen. After the documentary finalized its breakdown of each of the three disaster it switched gears to France to demonstrate how Nuclear Energy can be used to produce the majority of the electricity being consumed in a country. 80% of France’s electricity comes from Nuclear Energy, and they are doing so good that they even sell their electricity to other European countries. Although a Nuclear Power Plant has a big upfront cost we must thing about the long term investment and realize that these power plant has the ability to produce electricity for 60, 80, or even 100 years! What makes nuclear energy more renewable than every other source is due to the fact that you can use the waste of nuclear power plants to be put into a 4^th generation reactor (which still isn’t fully developed) and keep reusing the waste.

 

This documentary is full of fascinating facts that without a doubt dispel a lot of the negative images of nuclear plants. I highly recommend this documentary to any reader who is interested in having a more complete image of nuclear energy. The information and 1^st person testimonies of environmental activists provided in this documentary allowed the watchers experience to be quiet immersive and enjoyable.