The Nuclear Waste Competition No Community Wanted to Win: Filmmaker Casey Carter On His Award-Winning Documentary To Use A Mountain

I have the great pleasure of speaking with filmmaker Casey Carter about his award-winning documentary “To Use a Mountain.” The film begins with the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, when the U.S. government searched for a permanent deep geological repository for nuclear waste, turning six rural communities into candidates for a “competition” none of them wanted to win. Casey explains how the documentary travels through these places, treating each community as its own character while exploring memory, resistance, environmental concerns, and the long shadow of America’s nuclear program. We also look at the human and political dimensions of nuclear waste, from public hearings where residents felt unheard to the continuing consequences of nuclear testing and contamination at sites such as Hanford and the Nevada National Security Site. Moreover, Casey reflects on the challenge of managing radioactive waste for at least 10,000 years, and the way the film connects questions of energy, militarism, public health, and environmental responsibility. At its heart, To Use a Mountain becomes a story of rural communities coming together around shared concerns for land, history, safety, and future generations.