Casey Carter documentary explores U.S. nuclear waste disposal sites

The documentary ‘To Use a Mountain’, directed by Casey Carter, examines the federal government’s historical efforts to identify sites for the disposal of 77,000 tons of American nuclear waste. The film focuses on six rural American communities that were considered candidates for these burial grounds.

Carter’s work contrasts the clinical, analytical data produced by the Department of Energy during the 1980s with the personal histories and resistance of the people living in the potential sites. The director noted that the project was inspired by his research into Yucca Mountain and the realization that government archives often reduced these locations to purely analytical descriptions, omitting the human stories and the impact on the communities involved.

The film is currently playing at DCTV in New York City.