In this episode, the president has to try to mitigate a nuclear disaster in a fictional nuclear power plant in San Andreo, California. Both campaigns also have to maneuver the ramifications of the disaster, with Vinick having the greatest struggle because of his history in support of nuclear energy.

The U.S. gets over 18% of its energy from nuclear power, which is generated by 93 nuclear power reactors spread across the country. This is actually lower than the peak in 1990 when there were 111 reactors in operation. This decline could have many possible factors, but most speculate it is due to the association of nuclear power with nuclear weapons, and the public view of the plants as dangerous after incidents at Three Mile Island (1979, Pennsylvania), Chernobyl (1986, Soviet Union-Now Ukraine), and Fukushima (2011, Japan). In the episode, President Bartlet is told that “A meltdown isn't when one thing goes wrong, it's when 12 things go wrong.” This can be seen in each of these incidents. Three-mile Island was caused by a combination of equipment failure and operator error which created a cooling malfunction, Chernobyl was caused by a flawed reactor design operated by inadequately trained personnel, and Fukushima was caused by an earthquake creating a tsunami that disabled the power supply and cooling for the reactors.

We are still dealing with the effects of these disasters. This Thursday Japan is starting on their plan to release treated water from the Fukushima disaster into the Pacific Ocean, a process that is expected to take over three decades and both Japanese authorities and the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog deem safe. Three-mile Island didn’t cause any deaths and the area is considered safe for humans. Chernobyl, on the other hand, will not be habitable for about 20,000 years. Aside from the fear of a nuclear disaster, those against nuclear energy don’t like the fact that after the fuel cells are used they are still radioactive. Spent fuel rods are cased in concrete and steel and then buried underground to keep the surrounding environment safe.

New polling from the Pew Research Center has shown that Americans' support for nuclear energy has actually increased in recent years, from 43% in 2020 to 57% in 2023. Many see nuclear energy as a realistic alternative to fossil fuels because it has proven its ability to provide us with large amounts of electricity as America’s third greatest source of energy behind coal and natural gas. Nuclear energy also emits zero carbon or other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, meaning that replacing fossil fuels with nuclear power could help to curb climate change.

In the episode, Vinick makes the argument that “Nuclear power itself is safe” pointing out that tens of thousands of people die from our continued use of fossil fuels each year while the last time people were killed by nuclear energy was Chernobyl. Additionally, he argues that nuclear disasters are not the fault of nuclear energy itself, but of regulation errors. President Bartlet, meanwhile, argues that “No regulation could make [nuclear energy] safe.” There is not yet a clear answer as to who is right, but as we continue to look for ways to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear energy will continue to garner attention.