The Nuclear Comeback

The nuclear industry has some aces and some spades. It's now up to us to decide how much we want to stake on the nuclear hand. The scary thing is we may now be gambling with our planet's survival.

– Director Justin Pemberton on the ideas explored in The Nuclear Comeback, TVNZ website, 2007

One of the risks is the condition of shelter structures...there is still a threat of their collapse.

– 'International Co-Operation' employee Julia Marusych on the Chernobyl plant's ever present danger

Now safety comes first but in 1986 the production of electricity was the first priority.

– Shift Manager Sergey Usachov talks about the legacy of the Chernobyl disaster

The Nuclear Comeback, an absorbing documentary video, is titled declaratively but sprinkles question marks ... embarks on a tour of some of the high and low points of the nuclear world, touching on most of the major issues in the debate. The video deals with the key elements of the nuclear fuel cycle: mining, processing, reactor operation, and waste disposal ... a significant contribution to public awareness of the issues involved.

– Writer Daniel Pope, reviewing The Nuclear Comeback, H-Net scholarly website, October 2009

British Airways lost our luggage for three days, and we only had a five day permit to shoot. I couldn’t hire a camera for love or money in Kiev. To access the Chernobyl reactor area, we had to wear special suits. Our guide was using a Geiger counter he sometimes slapped to get accurate readings. It was a two kilometre walk to the control room. We could only film for four or five minutes tops, because of the radiation. It was pitch black in there apart from the flashlights we carried. A very quiet and heavy feeling, as if we were underwater; like filming in the wreck of the Titanic.

– Cinematographer DJ Stipsen on filming in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant