YouTuber Kyle Hill visits Dresden Station to prove a point about nuclear waste

He did the eye-catching task of smooching a nuclear dry cask storage facility within the Dresden Generating Station facility and hopes the moment, caught on video, proves a potent point.

Kyle Hill, who has gained popularity for his professionally produced YouTube videos, recently unveiled his most recent installment at the local Morris facility in early November. In the first three-and-a-half weeks of the video’s upload, Hill’s almost 20-minute video has been viewed more than 741,000 times. It can be viewed at https://youtu.be/lhHHbgIy9jU?si=ybyipvhYV44AWVd5.

The mini-documentary, which was filmed under heavy scrutiny, gives a rare glimpse inside the Grundy County facility, which started running in 1960.

“I do all this to prove a point,” Hill, who has visited the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plant sites, said toward the end of the video. “And that point is this: The world looks different when you understand it, and nuclear power and waste, when you understand it, looks less dangerous and more promising than ever.”

In an interview with the Morris Herald-News, Hill said the Dresden video – aptly titled, “I Kissed Nuclear Waste to Prove a Point” – was filmed during a visit in July after extensive background checks and clearances.

The White House’s Office of Nuclear Energy had to sign off on the visit. Officials from Constellation Energy, which operates Dresden Station, also put Hill through a battery of tests.

“Obviously, you cant just waltz into a working power plant,” Hill said. “Getting inside Dresden involved background checks, many Zoom calls and many months of planning. Once I was there, we were scanned for radiation, our footage was screened and armed guards followed us at all times.”

Paul Dempsey, a spokesman with Constellation, said company representatives took note of Hill’s volume of work.

“We researched Kyle’s video archive and were impressed with his fact-based approach to teaching viewers about a topic,” Dempsey said. “He addresses misconceptions head-on and has a great way of teaching about a topic without getting too caught up in complicated language.”

The YouTube video explained some of the various features within the Dresden site, including pools of water within the facility, where nuclear power is piled, that reportedly is cleaner than drinking water. Hill also walks among the 16-foot-tall dry cask storage towers that are able to withstand missile strikes.

Nuclear power, which, like wind and solar, is carbon-free, is an important source of everyday life, despite what advocates deem as having many misconceptions among the general public.

Today, nuclear power is linked to about 20% of the electricity powering the U.S.

Hill said he hopes viewers of his creations ponder deeper questions about their overall environment.

“Here’s a powerful question: Where is all the waste that a nuclear power plant produces? It’s on-site, either in pools or nearly indestructible casks,” Hill said. “[Constellation] likes to say that they can account for every neutron. Now ask yourself the same question of fossil fuels. Where is the pollution that your local coal plant produces?”

While epic nuclear disasters of the past, such as Chernobyl and Fukushima, resonate most, Hill in his latest video notes they are an anomaly.

For his part, Dempsey said he hopes viewers see Dresden Station “as just another place of business” that employs an array of “seasoned professionals.”

“The attention to detail and strict governance by procedure is very important to Constellation,” Dempsey said. “Every task starts with a pre-job brief hat includes a safety component. A job can be stopped if any issue arises that needs further discussion.”