Recently, I came across a video by one of my favorite online science educators, Kyle Hill, which featured a thumbnail of him kissing a cask of nuclear waste. In the video, Hill visited the Dresden Nuclear Power plant in Illinois, showing viewers the facility, particularly the spent fuel pool and the dry cask storage of nuclear waste, to inform about how nuclear waste is really stored and why people shouldn’t be worried about it. The video definitely has a pro-nuclear view to it, however this is supported by sound evidence, as Hill states that he wants viewers to be informed enough to form their own opinions on the matter. 

Hill uses his credibility as a well-known science educator to assure his audience that the facts he is using are based on evidence and research; with over 2 million subscribers his channel has a reputation for sharing accurate information. However, Hill’s ethos does conflict slightly with his persuasion in this video, since his channel is also known for being pro-nuclear. This slightly discredits his claims of the safety of nuclear waste, since he has a known bias.  

However, Hill is still able to use logic to promote the idea of the safety of nuclear waste. He uses objective evidence in the video, such as dosimetry (radiation detection readings) to show that the radiation near spent fuel or dry storage casks is less than the radiation received when flying at high altitude. Similarly, Hill also, in a manner conducive to clickbait, gets close enough to a dry storage cask to kiss it, showing the objective fact that our radioactive waste storage methods don’t cause any harmful effects. Additionally, this action also appeals to pathos in a way, since it invokes a slight fear and unease in the viewer for Hill to be so close to nuclear waste, however this tension is resolved once it is shown that there are no negative health effects. Highlighting this tension and resolution helps viewers acknowledge their own apprehensions of nuclear waste and reveal that these fears are rooted in false knowledge.  

However, the point of Hill’s video isn’t just to prove that nuclear waste is safe, it’s to prove that it’s safer than the waste from other forms of electricity generation too. One of the most powerful statements in the video was when Hill quotes, “Where is the waste from a nuclear power plant? It’s in the spent fuel pool; it’s right here (points at fuel storage cask). Where is the waste from a fossil fuel plant? It’s in there (points to lungs), it’s in the air, it’s in the water.” By using strong rhetoric based in factual evidence and logic, Hill is able to effectively communicate the misinformation around nuclear waste storage and promote a better understanding of our current safety.