04x22 - Nuclear waste and waste management

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John: welcome, welcome,

Welcome to last week tonight.

I'm john oliver.

Thank you so much for joining

Us.

And we begin tonight with the

White house: still a beautiful

Building despite what's

Currently happening inside it.

It's not the house's fault.

Hashtag #notthehousesfault.

Well, on friday, there was big

News:

Anthony mason: another staff

Shake-up at the white house.

Chief strategist steve bannon is

Out.

[Cheers and applause]

John: yes, steve bannon is

Gone, presumably to spend more

Time sucking his own cock.

But he leaves behind a legacy

Defined by quasi-constitutional

Xenophobia, unfulfilled campaign

Promises, and a definitive

Answer to the question, "what

Would happen if martin sheen ate

Nothing besides sea-salt for a

Thousand years?"

And while shocking, bannon is

Just the latest in a string of

Recent departures:

This picture of the president

In the oval office with his top

Advisors taken just days after

The inauguration.

Now national security advisor

Michael flynn, gone.

Press secretary sean spicer,

Gone.

Chief of staff reince preibus,

Gone.

And finally today, steve bannon.

[Cheers and applause]

John: wow!

He's surrounded by four white

Nothings and mike pence!

So, five white nothings!

But the truly depressing thing

About bannon's departure is how

Utterly unsatisfying it is.

Because yes, one panderer to

White nationalists has left the

White house.

The problem is, the one he was

Working for is still there.

And on tuesday, trump doubled

Down on his remarks about the

Groups marching in

Charlottesville last weekend:

Trump: not all those people

Were neo nazis, believe me.

Not all those people were white

Supremacists by any stretch.

You had some very bad people in

That group.

But you also had people that

Were very fine people on both

Sides.

[Boos]

John: no!

There weren't!

Because if you're marching with

White nationalists, you are - by

Definition - not a very fine

Person.

If malala yousafzai had taken

Part in that rally, you'd have

To say "okay: I guess malala

Sucks now.

I'm confused, I don't know why

She's there, but malala

Definitely sucks and that's the

Only conclusion you can draw."

Now, thankfully, condemnation of

Trump came fast -- sometimes

From unexpected quarters.

Reporter: a key white house

Advisory council of powerhouse

Ceos voting to disband.

Many of those business leaders,

Democrats and republicans

Speaking out, like the ceo of

Campbell's soup, saying "racism

And m*rder are unequivocally

Reprehensible and are not

Morally equivalent to anything

Else that happened in

Charlottesville.

John: wow.

When you become ceo of

Campbell's soup, you do not

Expect to have to start your

Public statements with the words

"Racism and m*rder are

Unequivocally reprehensible."

You expect to start them by

Saying, "yes, we're very sorry,

But again: you're the one eating

Clam chowder from a can."

Meanwhile, commentators who are

Usually in trump's corner had a

Tough time defending his remarks

-- None tougher than fox news's

Melissa francis.

Melissa francis:he didn't say

There were very good people

Among neo-n*zi protesters.

Marie harf: "he said there

Were very good people on the

Other side.

Melissa francis: there are

People that were opposed to the

Statues...

Marie harf: it was clear what

He was talking about...

Melissa francis: look at,

But...can I tell you this?

I am so uncomfortable having

This conversation.

And that's what this woman said

Before this, because I know

What's in my heart.

And I know that I don't think

Anyone is different, better, or

Worse based on the color of

Their skin, but I feel like

There is nothing any of us can

Say right now without being

Judged.

John: well, here's a tip: if

You're getting emotionally

Overwhelmed and feeling judged,

For defending trump in his "n*zi

Sympathizer" phase -- just stop

f*cking doing it.

It's that simple.

No one is making you do it.

Also, and I can't stress this

Enough, how did you manage to

Make this about you?

It was also fascinating to watch

Trump's own party try not to

Deal with what he said.

Take senate majority leader

Mitch mcconnell, whose office

Initially responded with a

Statement that "he had no new

Response to trump's news

Conference."

Although by wednesday, a new

Rumor started making the rounds:

Reporter: sources close to

Senate majority leader mitch

Mcconnell describe him as "very

Concerned and very upset."

Mcconnell's office denies that.

John: yes, mitch mcconnell

Had the moral courage to deny

Anonymous sources who said he

Had some moral courage.

"I will not stand idly by while

People drag my name out of the

Mud!

Leave my name in the mud where

It belongs!"

Others tried to thread the

Needle, condemning the nazis

Without explicitly mentioning

The president.

Paul ryan, a man whose spine ran

Away from home ten years ago and

Is now living on a spine commune

In northern vermont.

He tweeted that "white supremacy

Is repulsive", but didn't

Mention trump.

And come on.

You can name him.

He's not voldemort.

He's just a terrifying entity

Who viciously att*cks his

Enemies, and judges people based

On his birth right and you know

What- I hear it now.

I hear it.

And that's not to say no

Republicans condemned him by

Name.

Some did.

Anchor: let's take a look at

Just how many republican

Lawmakers have called the

President out by name over his

Response to charlottesville.

Now, this is really only a

Handful of the roughly 300

Republicans in congress.

John: oh, that graphic was

Actually generous -- cnn

Mistakenly padded it out with

John kasich, who isn't even a

Member of congress, and jeb

Bush, who holds no government

Position at all.

He's currently -- and this is

True -- running his own

Frozen yogurt shop in orlando.

Apparently, their tropical mango

Flavor is...

Fine.

It's not going to change your

Life.

It's fine.

The fact is, after the president

Of the united states implied

That good people were marching

With nazis, the overwhelming

Majority of republicans opted

Not to condemn him.

By our count, out of 292

Republican members of congress,

Only around 54 could be bothered

To unequivocally condemn trump

By name.

That's less than 20 percent!

And the problem with not

Mentioning him is, that suggests

He is not a key part of the

Problem here.

So in the words of the poets

Beyonce and the other ones: "say

His name, say his name.

Go right on to fox news.

Say donald I condemn you.

If you ain't runnin' game."

So although this week has been

Repeatedly called a turning

Point, much though I'd love to

Believe that, I don't see it.

Because every day has felt like

A turning point.

We're not so much turning

Anymore as spinning.

We're basically on a carousel

That won't stop, we've all

Vomited so much there's nothing

Left to throw up, and there's no

Way to get off, because an

Unstable race-baiting carny is

Operating the controls.

And we're probably going to go

Through a lot more before the

Republicans ever decide to do

Anything.

Because the hard truth is,

Nothing is really going to

Change in the white house until

One more person in that photo

Finally gets shown the door.

And now, this.

And now, local news answers

The question, should you stare

At the sun?

Speak up I know it's been pretty

Well established that you should

Never look directly as the sun.

You'll risk permanent eye

Damage if you look at the sun

Without proper eye protection.

Peered through a dark beer

Bottle?

Wrong.

Spray paint glass?

Don't do it.

Never, ever, do not look at

The sun like this.

We cannot stress this enough.

It is always dangerous to look

At the sun.

You cannot look at the sun or

Else we'll be taking a trip to

The hospital.

You're not supposed to stare

Right at the sun unless you hate

Your eyes.

Be warned, you could go blind

You are not going to go blind

, But it could cause

Significant damage to your eye

According to my optometrist.

There is no amount of time it

Safe to look at the sun.

If you look at the center a

Telescope you'll lose your I

Pretty much instantly.

Do not stare at the sun.

Obviously don't stare at the

Sun.

Don't stare at the sun.

That's the last time I want us

They had, folks.

Do not look at the sun.

Despite all warnings,

Everything we've been talking

About a year, you're going to

Look straight into the sun?

I'm afraid I am, yes.

John: moving on.

Our main story tonight concerns

Nuclear waste.

The worst type of garbage for

Raccoons to get into.

It's a substance we all know is

Dangerous, thanks to movies like

This:

They tormented him until he

Had a horrifying accident and

Fell into a vat of nuclear

Waste.

Melvin became the toxic avenger!

The first superhero born out of

Nuclear waste.

His face is so terrifying, we

Can't show it to you now.

You'll have to see the movie for

Yourself.

John: you really don't need

To see the movie, because his

Face isn't that terrifying.

This is it.

It's so ugly, it's almost cute

Again.

It's like someone melted a

Candle shaped like a pug.

The point is, nuclear waste, the

Radioactive and toxic byproducts

From making nuclear energy and

Weapons, is a serious health

Hazard.

And america has a lot of it.

Reporter: there are more than



Stranded at the nation's 104

Reactors.

Put all those spent fuel rods

Together and you get a pile as

Big as a football field and more

Than twenty feet tall.

John: or you could put them

In a pile as big as two football

Fields and ten feet tall, or

Half a football field and forty

Feet tall, or twenty football

Fields one foot tall.

The point is, we have a lot of

Nuclear waste and it is very fun

To play with.

And that's just the waste from

Nuclear energy.

We also have more than 100

Million gallons of hazardous

Liquid waste from producing

Weapons.

And you may live closer to

Nuclear waste than you think.

One out of three americans live

Within 50 miles of high-level

Nuclear waste.

Some of which, like plutonium,

Is lethally dangerous, and will

Be around for an incredibly long

Time.

Even microscopic amounts of

Plutonium, if ingested, are

Deadly.

Casey gadbury: one of the

Characteristics of it is it has

An extremely long half-life.

Plutonium 239 for example has a

Half-life of about twenty-four

Thousand years.

John: yeah, 24,000 years.

And that just scratches the

Surface.

It takes ten half-lives for

Plutonium to become harmless.

So 240,000 years.

A unit of time more commonly

Known as one "english patient."

And as any adult with an

American girl doll collection

Eventually finds out, if you

Want to keep something around

For a disturbingly long time,

You've got to find an

Appropriate place to put it.

"I can't live with your m*rder

Dolls anymore!

Felicity stares at me while I

Sleep!"

She stares at me!

She stares, unblinking!"

And look, I'm not the first

Person to make this point.

Look at this news report from



Reporter: almost half a

Century after nuclear power was

Harnessed, there still is no

Agreement on where to store the

Waste.

We have built the house, said

One critic, and forgotten the

Toilets.

John: a home with no toilets,

Or as a realtor selling a

Brooklyn loft is calling it

Right now, "artisanal

Composting."

"You're suggesting I shit in

That potted plant, and you and I

Both know that I'll do it,

Because this is convenient to

Public transit, and it has both

Northern and eastern exposures."

Well, it's been 27 years since

That clip and our country still

Doesn't have a nuclear toilet.

And that's our subject tonight:

Why do we not have a nuclear

Toilet?

And it's actually easy to

Understand how we got into this

Situation: during world w*r two,

We rushed to develop nuclear

Weapons, because we were trying

To defeat the nazis, who -- fun

Fact -- pretty much all

Americans agreed were bad at the

Time.

The thing is, we didn't really

Have a plan for what to do with

All the radioactive byproducts

That we produced.

And this initially led us to

Some mindblowingly stupid

Solutions.

For instance, for years, we

Actually did this:

Jerry whalen: they loaded

The radioactive waste and it was

In barrels, 55 gallon barrels of

Radioactive waste with concrete

Poured over it.

Robert birsic: it's funny,

The ocean don't glow out there

Outside of red bank, new jersey.

Really 'cause we dumped a lot of

Barrels out there.

John: it's true: we didn't

Just dump barrels of radioactive

Waste in the ocean, we did it

Off the coast of new jersey.

That's so horrifying, I'm

Surprised "jersey shore" was the

Title of a lighthearted mtv

Series and not the name of a

Harrowing documentary.

"An entire generation of

Children was born without

Thumbs, a phenomenon known to

Locals as...the situation."

And incidentally: not all of

Those barrels sank.

In fact, in 1957, when two

Barrels were caught floating off

The shore, naval aircraft were

Summoned to strafe them with

Machine-g*n fire until they

Sank.

That's right.

They shot barrels full of

Nuclear waste with machine g*ns.

That's got to be one of the most

Terrifying sentences ever said

Out loud, right after

"Donald trump is the president

Now" and "wait, wasn't felicity

On a different shelf when we

Went to bed last night?"

Felicity is a waking nightmare.

Although tossing barrelfuls of

Nuclear waste into the ocean and

sh**ting them with machine g*ns

Is actually preferable to at

Least one other idea that was

Thankfully rejected:

Blasting it into space.

A concept with a pretty clear

Flaw:

Allison macfarlane:

Unfortunately, we don't have a

Great record with getting

Rockets out into the atmosphere.

If any one of them blew up, that

Would basically contaminate a

Large portion of the earth

With-with radioactive material,

So that's probably not a great

Idea.

John: yeah, you're right.

That's probably not a great idea

A great idea would be filling

The rockets up with confetti, so

That way if there's a horrific

Accident, there's also a party.

Over the years, we've dumped

Nuclear waste all over the

Country, and in many places,

There have been frightening

Leaks.

Take the savannah river site in

South carolina, where waste from

Poorly stored material leaked

Into the groundwater.

And just watch this alarmingly

Laid-back man explain the

Consequences of that:

Tom clements: there are

Radioactive alligators on the

Site.

Radioactive materials are in the

Sediments.

It's gonna go up the food chain

And there's going to be

Radioactive alligators.

John: yeah!

Radioactive alligators!

They even have names:

Tritagator and dioxinator -

After two of the wastes that

Poisoned them.

And that's very clever.

Because if I had to give them

Names, I'd have probably gone

With "ahhhhhhhh holy shit a

f*cking radioactive alligator"

And "oh no, f*ck me, there's

Another one what nightmare hath

God wrought?"

And it's not just reptiles

Who've been impacted by nuclear

Waste.

Researchers are now studying an

Area in north st. Louis county,

Missouri where tons of waste

From the manhattan project was

Improperly stored, some near a

Creek that winds through

Residential communities.

And people who lived there have

Noticed some alarming trends.

I got on facebook in order to

Reconnect with people from high

School, and we started noticing

That so many of us were sick.

We've discovered that the

Department of veterans affairs

Officially recognizes around 21

Cancers associated with exposure

To ionizing radiation, and

Compared that list to what we

Had.

We had all those cancers.

Every single one.

John: that is an incredibly

Depressing thing to discover on

Facebook.

And it's hard to know how to

Respond.

I mean, you definitely don't

Want to use the 'like' button,

Because then it looks like you

Really 'like' the fact they just

Got cancer.

Now, there is that new 'sad'

Emoji, which would be perfect,

If you hadn't already cheapened

It by using to respond to the

News that chris pratt and anna

Faris were separating.

I mean, it's sad.

But it's not 21 cancer sad.

It's nine cancer sad, tops.

Thankfully, sixty years ago, our

Government, and the scientific

Consensus, came up with a

Solution.

In 1957, the national academy of

Sciences issued a report urging

The creation of a permanent

Storage facility deep

Underground.

Basically, a nuclear toilet.

And while we did build a

Repository for lower-level waste

In new mexico, we still haven't

Built one for the most

Dangerous, high-level waste.

And as a result, it's

Essentially been left wherever

It was made.

Which is not good, because those

Facilities were not built with

The idea they'd be storing

Indefinitely.

To continue the toilet metaphor,

We've basically been sh1tting in

Bags, leaving them all over the

House, and praying they don't

Leak.

And the most frightening example

Of this is the hanford site in

Washington state, which created

Two-thirds of the plutonium in

The u.s. Arsenal, and is

Currently storing 56 million

Gallons of highly toxic and

Radioactive waste underground.

And over the years, there've

Been so many issues at hanford

That they've achieved a dubious

Honor, as one local news station

Reported with an almost prideful

Tone:

The most contaminated place

In the entire western hemisphere

Isn't at a polluting factory or

Old chemical plant, it's right

Here in washington state.

John: right here!

We did it, guys!

"Washington state: home to the

Most contaminated place in the

Western hemisphere, thousands of

Acres of apple orchards, and

Several of ted bundy's grisliest

Murders."

There've been a string of

Problems at hanford, from

Explosions to toxic vapor

Releases to over a million

Gallons of waste leaking out of

Their tanks over the years.

Its been so bad, the government

Has had to pay out nearly one

And a half billion dollars in

Compensation to thousands of

Workers for illnesses stemming

From exposure to toxins there.

A local news station has done a

Series of reports on hanford,

And after a tunnel collapse in

May, found some of the

Infrastructure there is in

Almost comically bad shape:

Reporter: mistakes during

Construction are factors in the

Dangerous state of the tunnels.

They're 55 and 60 years old,

Well beyond their expected

Lifespan.

In addition, wood beams holding

Up the tunnels are eroding and

What corrodes timber beams?

Radiation.

Yes, you can't build something

Out of wood and expect it to

Last forever.

You're supposed to have learned

That from the second-dumbest of

The three little pigs.

Hanford is a gigantic problem,

And even though it hasn't

Produced anything for thirty

Years, the department of energy

Still spends nearly two and a

Half billion a year on cleaning

It up, which is close to



And it's pretty weird to find

Out that a place you just heard

About is getting that much of

The doe's money.

It's like finding out that half

The department of agriculture

Budget goes to this moose named

Gordon.

I mean, I don't know the right

Amount.

But that seems like a lot.

And in case you're thinking,

"Well, I'm glad I don't live

Near hanford", remember: there

Are nuclear power plants storing

Waste all over the country, lots

Of it in so-called "spent fuel

Pools", where nuclear fuel rods

Are supposed to be temporarily

Placed to cool down, and then

Put in dry containers and moved

To a permanent underground

Storage site.

But remember: we don't have one

Of those.

And in many places, those pools

Are just accumulating more and

More rods.

And while experts say it's

Highly unlikely, if a

Fukushima-like accident happens

At one of those, the results

Could be catastrophic.

The northeast has a number of

Nuclear power plants, including

The indian point plant just

Outside of new york city.

If any one of those were to have

A severe spent fuel pool

Accident, you're taking away a

Lot of big cities, a lot of

Farmlands, a lot of the united

States for decades, perhaps

Centuries.

John: that's right, lots of

Big cities.

New york, hartford, boston.

That last one is a shame because

As I understand it, they only

Just got unracist yesterday.

So it's pretty clear: we need to

Find a permanent facility to

Store our most dangerous waste.

And 30 years ago, we actually

Settled on a site: yucca

Mountain, in nevada.

Congress passed a law

Designating it as our sole

Candidate for waste storage.

Since then, we spent $15 billion

Prepping the site, as you can

See from this upbeat video:

♪ ♪

Narrator: located about 100

Miles northwest of las vegas,

Yucca mountain is the most

Thoroughly-researched site of

Its kind in the world.

Experts throughout the world

Agree that the most feasible and

Safe method for disposing of

Highly radioactive materials is

To store them deep underground.

John: that's right, the best

Place to put nuclear waste is in

A hole deep underground, much

Like felicity.

Wait, if she's not in there,

Where is she?

[Screams]

So, yucca mountain is our

Permanent storage site.

Problem solved, right?

Well, no.

Because while the site has been

Ruled safe, and the people in

The immediate area, nye county,

Actually support the project,

Many nevadans elsewhere in the

State really don't want it.

And their former senator,

Harry reid, lobbied hard,

Eventually managing to get yucca

Shut down.

He did have an alternative plan

For all the states sitting on

Their nuclear waste, but to put

It mildly, it was not

Scientifically sound.

Reid: leave it on site, where

It is.

Leave it where it is in dry cask

Storage containers.

If you were smart, what you

Would do is leave the thing

Where it is.

John: if you're smart, what

You would do is leave the thing

Where it is" is terrible advice

For dealing with nuclear waste

Although, it is, coincidentally,

The title of britain's

Best-selling book on parenting.

But here's the truth: the

Scientific consensus for decades

Has been that leaving it where

It is, is a terrible idea.

The shuttered power plant at

San onofre in california is

Storing nuclear waste, and it's

On a fault line, right next to

The ocean.

That sounds like something you

Learn in the first scene of a

Movie starring the rock that you

Watch on a plane.

And look: maybe yucca is the

Best place to store our growing

Supply of radioactive garbage,

And maybe it's not.

I'm not a nuclear scientist.

And our new the face of one.

Energy secretary,

Rick perry, has said he's

Optimistic about fixing the

Problem.

Which sounds great.

Although he didn't do great at

Dealing with this disaster:

♪ ♪

John: that was him on

"Dancing with the stars", and on

The basis of that, managing

Volatile energy is not his

Forte.

But we've been saying we're

Going to fix this for decades

Now.

And we seem to be no closer to a

Solution.

And let me show you something

That really drove that fact home

To us:

Because we've been researching

This story for a couple of

Weeks.

And just yesterday afternoon, we

Stumbled on a tv special from



♪ ♪

Nbc news presents: danger!

Radioactive waste!

Yes, this problem is so old

They reported on it back when

The news was kept in an

America-shaped vault you opened

With a crank.

And as we watched it yesterday,

We gradually- and chillingly-

Realized: by pure coincidence,

It hits every beat of the story

That we just told you.

It opens with footage of sailors

Throwing barrels into the ocean,

It looks at the facilities at

Hanford, it talks about

Radiation's impact on workers,

And on families who live nearby.

And while it doesn't have a

Radioactive alligator, it does

Have radioactive cows.

Which is good, although I

Preferred our alligator.

I liked it when he went:

[Hisses]

But the most chilling moment in

That documentary might be the

One where they sit down with

Someone in authority and demand

To know when this will be fixed.

Narrator: when you ask when

The problem will be solved, you

Get answers like this:

Reporter: what's the

Realistic timetable?

Frank baranowski: realistic

Timetable is scheduled to have a

Repository in operation by 1985,

With a selection of the sites by

The end 1978 for detailed work.

John: exactly, nuclear waste

Is a problem we were supposed to

Have dealt with in the 1980s and

Still can't solve, much like

This rubik's cube I always carry

With me.

You're my jean valjean, cube,

And one day I shall defeat you.

And at the end of that special,

Remember, forty years ago,

The correspondent delivers this

Special message:

Report: the waste increases

Every minute.

The solution of where to put it

Is years away, and none of the

Previous solutions has worked.

We are accustomed in this

Country to act only in times of

Crisis.

But with nuclear waste, when the

Crisis comes, it will be too

Late.

That's right, and that was

Four decades ago!

We've already waited way too

Long to resolve this issue and

We are dancing with trouble

Here.

So if anyone says the government

Can just continue to wait, they

Are, much like a house with no

Toilet, full of shit.

And now, this.

And now, some of the actual

Responses from potential jurors

Excused from the martin shkreli

Trial.

I'm aware of the defendant.

And I hate him.

No, no, no, no.

By the time I came in and sat

Down and he turned around, I

Felt immediately I was biased.

He kind of looks like a.

When I walked in here today, I

Looked at him, and in my head,

That's a snake, not knowing who

He was, I just walked in and

Looked right at him, and that's

A snake.

I think he's a greedy little man

You'd have to convince me he was

Innocent rather than guilty.

The only thing I'd be impartial

About is what prison this guy

Goes to.

Is he stupid or greedy?

I can't understand.

He disrespected the wu-tang clan

Wu-tang clan ate it nothing

To f*ck with.

John: that's our show, will

Be back september 10th.

Thanks for watching, good night!