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Arts & Culture

NOVA: The Nuclear Option

Fukushima Daiichi, Japan
Courtesy of WGBH
Fukushima Daiichi, Japan

Airs Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, discover the technologies that could prevent future disaster.

Five years after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the unprecedented trio of meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, scientists and engineers are struggling to control an ongoing crisis at the wrecked plant.

Workers welding storage tanks at Fukushima Daiichi, Japan.
Courtesy of WGBH
Workers welding storage tanks at Fukushima Daiichi, Japan.

What's next for Fukushima? What's next for Japan? And what's next for a world that seems determined to jettison one of our most important carbon-free sources of energy? Despite the catastrophe, a new generation of nuclear power seems poised to emerge phoenix-like from the ashes of Fukushima.

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In "The Nuclear Option," NOVA investigates how the realities of climate change, the inherent limitations of renewable energy sources, and the optimism and enthusiasm of a new generation of nuclear engineers is seeding a renaissance in nuclear technology, all while the most recent disaster is still being managed. What are the lessons learned from Fukushima? And how might we be able to build a safe nuclear future?

Nuclear Physicist Charles Till at Control Panel, Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
Courtesy of WGBH
Nuclear Physicist Charles Till at Control Panel, Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

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