The West Wing s07e12 Episode Script
Duck And Cover
Previously on The West Wing: You got a four point bump, Vinick only got a two point bump.
When we're talking about education, we are talking about our most precious resource.
Matt Santos is a lot smarter and tougher than you think.
We got to take it to him.
We got to put Santos in a jam.
Kazakhstan isn't China's only oil source.
Their most promising one.
The Kazakh people, meanwhile, are rioting in the streets, 'cause they've just been screwed out of an election.
Worst case scenario-- two nuclear powers are positioning themselves to actively engage in an armed conflict over oil.
Did the Chinese invade? No, Kazakhstan is stable.
- What is it? - Some kind of nuclear accident.
- A weapon? - Power plant.
Is it Russia? San Andreo, California.
They think it might blow up.
What do we know? at 6:02 Pacific Time, emergency sirens went off at the Nuclear Generating Station in San Andreo, California.
The main feedwater pump failed.
Everything proceeded as expected.
A relief valve opened to let the water escape, the reactor scrammed.
It shut itself down.
But now a valve's malfunctioning, and coolant's stopped flowing into the reactor's core.
If they can't get coolant into the core The uranium fuel rods become exposed, which makes them highly combustible.
We could be looking at a full-scale nuclear meltdown.
- Full-scale, as in - FEMA thinks the plume could cover all of San Andreo.
Population 42,000.
Federal response teams are on the way.
Any word on the cause? It could be human error, a design flaw It's not likely terrorists would sneak in there and jam a valve.
We're rechecking all the relevant intel.
Has the public been notified? No, but when they shut down the reactor, there was a steam release that sounded something like a Concorde landing, and CNN's already running rumors of an explosion.
I want the FEMA Director and the Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in here right away.
Get CNN to stop running rumors.
I'll make a statement in 15 minutes.
Sir, you really don't want to notify the public till there's a plan in place.
There could be widespread panic.
Then we'd better get moving on a plan, 'cause I'm making a statement in 15 minutes.
- Yes, sir.
- Thank you, Mr.
President.
Yes, we worry about what's happening in the culture.
We have two young children.
But censorship's like saying, I can't have a steak because a baby can't chew it.
Let's be careful.
- Yeah.
- He's good tonight.
As long as he keeps pivoting to the issues, I'm fine.
You told Rolling Stone you like Bob Dylan-- I was just wondering which is your favorite album? My favorite Bob Dylan album.
Uh, I guess I should say, uh, Highway 61 Revisited, and then we can just ease into transportation policy.
But really, it's, uh, Blonde on Blonde.
Believe me, there's no policy implications to that.
Did he just imply Jay Leno's gonna have a field day.
No big issue's captivated the voters.
You're surprised it's come down to geezer rock trivia? Wrap it up.
What? There was a nuclear accident in California.
Get to television, a laptop, get any details you can.
Santos is doing that "Rock the Vote" event in Tampa.
Probably pandering like mad to a bunch of pre-teens.
Better be some post-teens.
You're sending me up there tomorrow.
I'm sending you 'cause you talk like a President, not some latter-day Mick Jagger-in-chief.
Yeah.
Bruno.
I can tell 'em about my psychedelic phase, when I wore brown socks on the Senate floor.
Call me the second you get confirmation.
Confirmation on what? A, uh, problem with a nuclear plant in California-- San Andreo.
Might be an explosion.
San Andreo.
It's near San Diego.
Yeah, I know where it is.
What? I pushed the licensing commission to get San Andreo up and running 25 years ago.
Pushed? I helped get that plant online.
No one knows what's happened at the San Andreo Nuclear Plant.
We're waiting for confirmation of what appears to be some kind of nuclear accident.
All the PDDs from the past month.
The Office of Cabinet Affairs.
The entire office, page them all.
Yeah, it's an emergency.
We received numerous reports of a loud explosion, as well as reports of Arab tourists seen near the facility in the last two days How can they run these crazy rumors? The only thing certain in cases like this-- first reports are always wrong.
How we handle this in the next 90 minutes will determine whether there's panic within a 100 miles of every nuclear plant in this country.
We don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
Harry? The coolant in the reactor has dropped at least a foot, exposing an eighth of the fuel rods.
How can they get cool water in there? They're running a temporary feed line to bypass the broken valve while they figure out what's wrong.
In the meantime? They're activating an emergency heat removal pump.
The hope is that it'll lower temperatures enough to prevent a meltdown.
There's a second problem.
Yes, another valve is stuck open.
With the temperatures rising in the reactor, an awful lot of radioactive steam is being generated, and it's pouring into the containment building.
Are we worried about a radiation leak? We're worried they might have to pump radioactive gases into an auxiliary building, which is not built to hold them.
One poorly-welded seam How much radiation are we talking about? It's unclear, but administrators at Cal Vista Gas and Electric - They run the San Andreo plant.
- Yes.
They believe any leak would pose little or no threat to the public health.
Without knowing how big it might be.
It's chaos over there.
I couldn't even get them on the phone.
I want the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to take command of that plant, and I want to evacuate the area.
It's a state and local matter.
Get the Governor of California, right away.
Yes sir.
Governor Tillman wants to wait until we're absolutely sure it's necessary.
He'll argue that a rash, messy, nighttime evacuation - could be worse than - The Governor's on the line.
Gabe, you have to evacuate San Andreo.
We're all working off sketchy information.
'Cause trust me on this, we would rather have a few fender-benders on the I-5 than a generation of babies with thyroid cancer.
My FEMA Director is right here.
He'll coordinate with your State Emergency Services, and I'm going to declare a Major Federal Disaster.
You're gonna have every federal resource you need.
We're gonna get through this.
Mr.
President, with all the levels of government involved in this, maybe now's a good time to designate a czar, - a single point-person to oversee - You're looking at him.
We talked to the Senate office.
They're reaching out to the Governor's office, regional officials.
We've got hundreds of press requests.
I want to issue a statement supporting the Governor's evacuation plan.
We should couple it with a call for an investigation.
This has to have been a regulatory failure.
Yeah, we want to be careful, though.
Everyone knows the Senator is pro-nuclear.
He said it in the first debate.
That's why we have to act defensively.
The DNC's got to know he lobbied to get that plant opened.
Defensive, but not destructive.
What do you want? Jamie and your grandkids are in, uh, San Diego? Phone lines are jammed.
Cell phones, everything.
We'll put out a statement supporting the Governor.
The President wants to make a statement - in the next few minutes.
- Saying what? Whatever we can figure out in the next few minutes.
You wouldn't believe the rumors that are bouncing around here.
That there's a fire near the reactor, - and it's about to blow.
- Not exactly.
That we're shutting down every nuclear plant with the same design.
Not the dumbest of ideas, but no.
Look, the press are going to talk to everybody.
They're gonna speculate about everything.
I need you to grab hold of the information flow.
- I have no information.
- Welcome to the club.
Let's start with that statement.
What are the odds this leads to a meltdown? A meltdown isn't when one thing goes wrong.
It's when 12 things go wrong.
There must be six million people living within 100 miles of that plant.
Based on prevailing winds, FEMA recommends we evacuate 15 down, six and nine around.
It'll cover all of San Andreo.
and nine, like a clock.
But State Emergency Services want to do just ten down, six and nine around-- the legal minimum.
And tell 'em if they're fine with ten miles, the Governor and I will be setting up a command post at ten point one miles from the plant.
We'd like them to join us there.
The press ready for my statement? Readier than we are.
It's not like we have much to tell them.
Sounds like they're more comfortable with 15 miles.
Good evening.
there was a mechanical problem at the Nuclear Generating Station at San Andreo, California, which is causing the reactor's core to overheat.
There's been no explosion.
There's no indication of terrorism or foul play.
Engineers are working to address the problem right now.
Governor Tillman has begun an evacuation.
And I'm declaring a Major Federal Disaster and dispatching every possible resource.
We don't have all the facts.
You will have them as soon as we do.
But every level of government is working together on this.
No matter what happens, we're going to handle it.
So, what they're doing is bypassing the broken valve, running a new pipeline to get cool water into that reactor so it doesn't melt down.
Federal officials believe they can avoid the worst, but I can tell you I don't understand why they put a nuclear plant so close to a population center.
They're all near population centers.
Otherwise, they lose too much power in transmission.
So, the whole idea is kind of crazy.
Kind of.
You should give a big speech on that-- put out a whole new energy plan.
Or point out that Vinick's plan glows in the dark.
It's true.
Vinick's for nuclear power.
You've fought against it for years.
We could get every environmental group for a press conference.
Skip Oregon, campaign along the evacuation route, give out bottled water.
Can I talk to you? Let me know when they get the pipeline to the core.
Where's Leo? He's on a charter to Ohio.
He's gonna call in when he lands.
Get them to cool it on the political chatter.
I don't want us holding rallies on the Hindenburg.
Yeah, I'm gonna cancel our events tomorrow.
We can't be exploiting this.
Yeah.
And I don't think we're gonna have to.
You're anti-nuclear.
Vinick's got a long history on the other side.
This is all upside for us.
I say we go completely dark.
Let the press go after Vinick on their own, so they can't accuse us of playing politics.
I'm fine doing nothing on this issue.
I mean nothing on any issue-- no speeches, no press releases.
We just stay right here.
See which way the wind blows.
And what's blowing in it.
Have we cooled down the reactor's core? The heat removal pump hasn't had much impact; a 20-degree drop, but we're talking Hang on.
We've got a temporary coolant line to the core.
I don't see anyone popping champagne corks.
I thought if we got a line in there, we'd avoid a meltdown.
Radioactive steam is still gushing into the containment building, they had to start pumping it into the auxiliary building.
Which wasn't designed to hold it.
No.
It can accommodate up to 50 pounds of pressure per square inch, it's now at 34 psi and rising.
The coolant won't be enough to stop it.
And the fuel rods give off hydrogen gas.
Which is extremely explosive.
If we get near maximum pressure levels The containment building might be able to withstand that kind of a blast.
The auxiliary building cannot.
- So? - Unless we fix the valves soon, we have to vent a radioactive gas into the atmosphere to relieve the pressure.
How many people are still in San Andreo? About 30,000.
I don't want to release any radiation until everyone's been evacuated.
What's the alternative? An explosion that spreads radiation all over Southern California, maybe parts of Arizona and Nevada sir.
How much would we have to vent? We think it'd be within EPA's parameters for an acceptable dosage.
It's Santa Ana season in Southern California.
Which could be good.
If winds stay consistent, the radiation could drift out over the ocean.
How do we speed up the evacuation? Tell people we're about to spill radiation into the air good chance that'll speed 'em up.
How much time before we reach 50 psi? Maybe an hour.
Who would give the order? We've taken charge of the plant, sir.
That would be you.
DoE, EPA NOAA-- okay, let's get started.
I wanted all the agency spokespeople in one place so we could Yes, Blieden? - Have you got an update for us? - Radioactive steam's been spilling into the containment building, so much of it, they've had to pump it into another building.
but the other building can only hold it's now at 38.
We may have to vent radiation into the atmosphere to avoid a big bang.
Guys, guys, I don't have time to do this by Socratic method.
I called you all here cause each of your agencies is going to be involved in this, but no one-- not a single one of you-- is going to talk to the press.
All right? No one.
- I've got a call list ten pages long.
- I can assure you they've all called my office, too.
There will be one briefer: me.
What if this turns out to be the administration's fault? We can't withhold information from the public.
We won't be withholding anything.
We're trying to maintain calm, make it look like we know what we're doing, so there will be one voice, the dulcet tones of Will Bailey.
Get your souvenir programs in the lobby.
What about political questions? Vinick's the pro-nuke guy, in the first debate There will be one briefer, and I won't be answering political questions.
Guys? Guys? It's almost morning in Kazakhstan, sir.
The polls open in two hours.
Busy night for you.
It's always morning somewhere.
We have election monitors on the ground? Through the OSCE.
China needs to see this is a genuine democracy, not some Russian puppet government out to screw them out of their oil interests.
China's got troops along the border, if they think it's a phony election rigged to protect a Russian-installed incumbent They cross the border, so does Russia, and we have a war on our hands.
I'll have regular updates for you.
So we're at 46 psi? We don't have much time to relieve the pressure in that auxiliary building.
Where are we in the evacuation? Maybe a third of the people in the evacuation zone are out.
At least 700,000 from the region are pouring onto freeways.
- 700,000? - That's a conservative estimate.
Plus, there aren't enough busses and vans to take care of at-risk populations-- seniors, people with disabilities.
The governor wants you to activate military support from Camp Pendleton.
So ordered.
Do we have a direct line to the control room in San Andreo? The superintendent for operations is on now.
We've got helicopters overhead to get an immediate reading, to make sure we're within the acceptable dosage.
- Which is? - 500 millirems.
Is there any way to wait for support from Camp Pendleton? I don't like idea of the elderly and the disabled taking the brunt of this.
The longer we wait, the more chance of an explosion, and God knows how much radiation shooting into the atmosphere.
- Vent it now.
- Open the stack.
Opening auxiliary stack.
What do we mean by "acceptable dosage" anyway? It's the amount the body can safely absorb through direct exposure.
But radiation also enters the surface layers of the soil, where it's absorbed by plants and insects and enters the food supply.
It seeps into water sources.
When it does enter the body, sometimes it kills cells instantly, sometimes it forms damaged cells.
- Cancer.
- Yes, sir.
Stack opened.
Steady at 1,200 m-rems - 1,200?! - Inside the stack.
Once it's in the air, it'll disperse.
Anything below 500, we're fine.
We have to announce the number.
It'd make the evacuation Can we take another reading? Steady at 561.
It's more than we consider safe.
We have to let the people know.
Anyone who's not on the freeway will be looking for an on-ramp.
Make the freeway one-way.
No one feels comfortable in making that choice.
Santa Ana winds could shift at any time.
We're spilling radiation into the sky, people are jamming the freeways, and we don't know what direction they should drive? - Tell Will to announce the number.
- Yes, sir.
So you're saying the radiation release was at a dangerously unsafe level? No, I'm saying it was slightly above EPA's standard for an acceptable dosage.
The government believes it's safe? I didn't say that-- I'm just trying to present the facts.
An estimated one million people are fleeing Southern California.
Isn't the President worried about public panic? He's worried about public safety.
He's urging those outside the evacuation zone to stay home, so those in the zone can get out.
Will, is EPA going to brief on the levels of radia I'm briefing on that and everything else.
- What if we need more information on - Ask me and I'll get it.
Will, Assistant Secretary Blieden at HHS says the weather agencies are worried that winds will shift.
That people could be evacuating the wrong way.
- Blieden said that? - Yes, that NOAA and NARAC I'll get into it.
Plants that we already have.
Nuclear power is a completely safe, dependable energy source.
- Did you say - Of course we should build "Completely safe?!" Look, I don't want to be an alarmist here They've been playing Vinick's debate clip a lot.
They're starting to, yeah.
Site advance wants to know if we're scrubbing the whole Oregon trip.
The congressman doesn't want to politicize a tragedy.
We don't want to do a press statement in the morning? - A few interviews? - No interviews, no statements.
Not from us, not from the DNC, and not from anyone we control.
We could make a lot of hay out of this.
Vinick's the pro-nuke poster child.
No hay.
No posters.
The Oregon trip is off.
You may want to hang onto your pitchfork.
I'm behind you on all this, Gabe.
All right, bye.
How's the governor? Nervous.
I don't see why-- any angry constituents will just be vaporized anyway, right? Well, am I the only one left in the family with a sense of humor? Anything new? How about something old? What is it? Vinick lobbied for federal approval for San Andreo 25 years ago.
He's the reason the plant's there.
- When is this going to break? - I don't know.
The press is kind of preoccupied.
We don't want to nudge them along? We could put it out, yeah.
But then he could hit us back for playing politics with a mushroom cloud.
If the press finds it on its own, it'll be 900 times bigger.
- And what if they don't find it? - They will.
This isn't politics, this is policy, those places are unsafe.
It's a legitimate point.
in San Andreo is a phone line and a television set.
In New Mexico, in Arizona, in Colorado, people are getting in their cars and driving east.
And while higher-than-acceptable levels of radiation drift into the air, the White House won't say if we're past risk of a meltdown or explosion Hide these under your mattress.
unlikely to abate anytime soon There are health risks For now.
I don't like hearing the word "meltdown" on cable news; gone wrong yet.
By my count, we're barely at six or seven.
Well, they're still trying everything - to fix the valves.
- Who's "they"? Our engineers plus their engineers.
Lots of engineers.
Radioactive steam is going to build up in that damned auxiliary building again.
The more immediate concern is panic, the freeways are like parking lots.
Fox is running a story about a family in Michigan that's leaving the country.
How soon can I visit San Andreo without diverting resources from the evacuation? I could get FEMA's okay for you to travel tomorrow, assuming that the valves are fixed.
But there's substantial risk of Tell the press now I'm flying out tomorrow.
Sir, the steam is still building up, - if we have to vent more - If people know I'm going, maybe they'll stop buying one-way tickets to Norway.
And what about Senator Vinick? That's his home state.
We always invite the senators to join you on disaster trips.
Have we ever had a situation where one's a major-party nominee? And if we take Vinick, do we invite Matt Santos? - Maybe we're better off - Vinick's Senator from California.
He's on the plane if he wants to be.
Set up a call with Matt Santos.
Nuclear power is a completely safe, dependable energy source.
Fifth time this hour.
You know how many press requests we've got? - A bunch.
- Every network, every major newspaper, plus Japanese TV, internet radio.
There's probably requests from homing pigeons in here.
We have to say something.
"We support the governor's evacuation.
" We'll say it in Japanese.
The senator, on camera.
We have to give them fresh video or they keep running that debate clip.
- He should whack federal regulators.
- Bob.
The regulations are too lax! It's practically Scout's Honor.
We're in a great big glass house, we do not throw the first stone.
Okay, a moratorium on all new nuclear plant construction.
He cannot retreat from what he said in the debate.
Look, they're killing us out there-- and they still don't know our guy helped get that plant approved - in the first place! - Bob, I know Josh Lyman.
There is a reason he is camped out in Florida, the swingingest of swing states.
Santos is going to whack us, then we hit him back for politicizing a national disaster.
Well, that's a big roll of the dice somone weak pair of knees.
Trust me, Josh has the political equivalent of Tourette's Syndrome-- he can't help himself.
We wait for his next spasm, then we strike back.
Yeah, Bruno.
Yeah.
C.
J.
All right, I'll tell him.
The President wants the Senator to fly with him on Air Force One tomorrow.
To San Andreo.
Yes, Mayor.
There's coolant running into the reactor now.
Fingers crossed.
I thought a degree in economics was plenty for this job.
My kingdom for a plumbing license.
I have Matt Santos on the line.
Thanks.
Matt.
You look great out there.
When you're actually, you know, out there.
Just holding tight, Mr.
President, praying for the people of San Andreo.
Matt, I'm taking Arnie Vinick to California.
I know this could help him politically.
Yes, sir.
The senior Senator from California.
If I do anything else, I'd be playing game with a national emergency.
Well, you have to do what you think is best.
Keep me in your prayers too.
Yes, Mr.
President, I will.
Thanks It's an enormous gift.
Jed Bartlet's our radiation shield.
Now we're banking on the Democrat helping us? - Is Santos coming? - No.
Your state, not his.
What if the news of your lobbying for San Andreo breaks while you're standing next to the President? This is how we survive it.
Not if the story breaks while we're right there You don't you get it, do you? Santos is shut out of the trip.
Josh has to attack us now.
Flying down there links us to the disaster, and just hoping Josh Lyman's blood sugar spikes - isn't any kind of - I represent the state.
I'm taking that seat on Air Force One.
What is it? The temporary pipeline that runs cool water to the core-- it usually carries hot water, not cold.
- Okay.
- Imagine heating a glass to 700 degrees then poured ice water in it.
The pipe's cracking.
And the water level around the fuel rods is dropping again.
They've tried everything to fix the valves from the control room-- we have to send men into the containment building to fix them by hand.
I'm guessing the radiation in there is above the acceptable dosage.
Five times more.
Even with anti-contamination gear.
Who would we be sending in? Two mechanical engineers from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Civil engineers? There isn't some military team, some Pentagon specialists we could deploy? This is their job, sir.
You think when they started engineering school, they imagined the President would ask them to risk their lives by prying open a piece of pipe? I have a couple announcements to make.
The emergency secondary pipeline-- the temporary line that's bringing cool water to the reactor's core-- it's cracking and degrading.
Technicians are working to run new pipe, and two NRC engineers will be entering the containment building to try to fix the valves manually.
They must be taking an enormour risk just by walking in there.
It'a very dangerous work environment; they're trained for it.
Is more radioactive gas building up in the auxiliary structure? We're hoping we can fix the underlying problem before that's an issue.
You'd tell us we were on the verge of an explosion? I promised you the facts you gona get them.
VEP* say these kind of mechanical problems show clear regulatory failures on the part of the Bartlet There are lots of people who think they know what's going on.
Let me tell you who does: he briefs from this podium This isn't the Kremlin, Will.
How do we know you're not covering something? Second anouncement.
Tomorrow morning the President will travel to a command center outside the evacuation zone, he'll be accompanied by the California Congressional delegation.
He believes it's safe? The immediate danger is inside the zone.
Does this mean Senator Vinick's going? He's a member of the California delegation.
What about Congressman Santos? No other delegations are going.
Tough crowd in there! You told Time we were worried about wind shifts.
I got that from your office.
Which is why my office has taken you off the talking points distribution list.
I need those to do my job.
Not anymore; you're being transferred.
You no longer speak for this government.
For telling people the truth?! For telling people something which can only cause further panic.
Doesn't matter if it's true, doesn't matter if I've already said it.
We're trying to prevent mass hysteria in a climate in which even the truth can be misinterpreted, so we speak with one voice.
You're lucky you still have a job.
Guess you heard the President's taking Vinick to California.
Yeah.
It's his home state.
There's a protocol to these things, right? Well, let's hope everyone uses the correct fork.
It could hurt Vinick, Flying into the fallout He gets to be statesman, healer, and when is the press going to figure out that he got the plant open? Cable news is still running that debate clip.
More press requests.
Plus Governor of Colorado, head of the DNC, Governor These are all for me? They're wondering why we're holed up in Florida, instead of mobilizing the whole party to slam Vinick.
Prevailing winds.
Even the advance guys are begging us to get off the dime.
Tell Advance to stick to losing my luggage.
Vinick's coasting toward his bipartisan buddy weekend with the President.
The advance guys are right.
If we don't take him on, he's gonna It's estimated that the radiation levels inside the containment building are four or five times higher Just sent two engineers into the containment building-- like putting them in a microwave set on high.
Getting a few press requests.
By a few, you mean A million-gajillion.
Okay, that's not a real number.
I'm not talking Radio Free Yonkers.
Every morning show wants you for their lead segment, - every cable show - Are you changing your mind on this? I don't know, it's just the second Vinick gets on Air Force One, the second he has Jed Bartlet's arm around him, it's like a mega-dose of political penicillin.
One day with the President does not erase three decades of pushing plutonium.
Josh is right-- it gives Vinick a chance to absolve himself.
If the press find out he lobbied for San Andreo before he gets on that plane, there goes his get-out-of-jail-free card.
If we did anything, if our fingerprints are anywhere on that Maybe we get a third-party to do it.
Why hasn't anyone linked Vinick to that plant? Because they just sent two engineers into the containment building-- the press are probably on the freeways too.
If it comes out after that trip, after they become the Martin and Lewis of disaster management A couple network presidents called, direct appeals to do their morning shows.
and open the coolant valve to get cool water to the core.
You were right four hours ago; you're still right now.
Tell them thanks but no thanks.
Nothing on Drudge, nothing on the Note, nothing on the wires.
I don't know what Josh is waiting for.
The Senator has to say something on-camera before he gets on that plane.
No he doesn't.
Sympathy for the region, sympathy for the Redskins, I don't care what he says-- you want that debate clip to air another 6,000 times? Josh hits us, we call it bare-knuckled exploitation of a tragedy, and we let the President do the heavy lifting.
The President? Yeah.
We get him to say, right there in California, that accidents happen.
You think the President will defend us on nuclear power.
A nuclear disaster on his watch? He'll jump at the chance.
He'll be defending himself too.
Did you talk to the head of the Red Cross? They need more potassium iodine in the shelters.
- FEMA can work it through HHS - We took care of it.
Petcock's working, the valve's turning.
What happened? The engineers opened the coolant valve.
Once they make sure there's no overflow, we can pull them out.
What about the relief valve? Radioactive steam's still spewing into the containment building.
It's already been 17 minutes.
I didn't want them in there more than 15.
If they shut the other valve, we're out of the woods.
It'll take too long.
- It's an extremely toxic vironment.
- If more gas pours out of that structure, so is most of Southern California.
Plus, they are already in here.
You want to expose another team? How much longer would it take? Five, maybe ten minutes.
Ask them to try and shut down the other valve.
Ask them to move on to the relief valve.
- Yes, Mr.
Chairman.
- Excuse me, Mr.
President.
The polls just closed in Kazhstan; the Russian-installed incumbent Taramov.
He's been declared the winner.
Please tell me they counted the votes first.
Our election monitors are reporting widespread harassment-- beatings, mass arrests of civic activists.
We barely got China to hold their troops by scheduling this election-- this could lead to open hostilities.
We've already got 'em.
A pro-democracy riot's broken out in the Kazakh capital.
There's corrosion build-up on the valve stamp.
We're not getting enough torque.
They finally pulled out the engineers.
stop the steam leak.
Did you see my memo about your press availability with the President tomorrow? Bob wants me to make a statement from the Capitol in the morning.
before I get on Air Force One.
Yeah, Senator, I urge you not You want me to get the President to say accidents happen-- that's fine.
But Bob's right, I can't wait another seven hours to show my face in public.
You want to show your face and say what-- you've been wrong your whole career? Nuclear's peachy keen, while a million people are on the run? This wasn't a failure of nuclear technology.
This was a regulatory screwup.
You point fingers now, and it will look like you're trying to avoid taking any responsibility for this.
You know why Europe's greenhouse emissions are so much lower than ours? Nuclear power.
- Totally emissions-free.
- Sure, but You know how many Americans die from oil refinery explosions, from coal soot in the air? Tens of thousands, and not one from a nuclear-power anything in thirty years.
Okay, you're right, but that is still not Everytime they show that debate clip, it looks like I ran into that plant myself and spilled uranium on the floor.
Santos is going to hit us.
You have to wait.
That is how we change the story.
I'm going to give the press some footage besides that debate clip.
I need you to keep your political hat on.
We don't know how many voters'll be living in California by election day.
My lobbying for San Andreo is out there like a ticking time bomb.
We can't control the politics of this, not even close.
I'll talk to the President about his speech.
But I'm the Senator from California, and I'm going to make a statement before I get on that plane.
Both the engineers who were in the containment building-- they've been hospitalized for radiation sickness.
One's slipped into a coma.
Sir, they knew the danger better than us.
- You weren't wrong - No one ever told me their names.
James Cook is the one in James Cook and Mark Laroche.
We'll get call sheets for their families.
The pressure in the auxiliary building's up to 28 psi.
You may need to authorize a second team to try to shut the valve manually.
If you'd like, you can deputize the NRC Chair to make the call.
- If they don't solve the problem - 15 minutes and out.
Of course, but if they can't solve the problem, we may be looking at another venting of radiation.
And the Santa Anas don't stay consistent for long.
- If sea winds push them north - Call the Governor.
Make a contingency plan to widen the evacuation.
And I want updated weather models every half hour.
You weren't wrong to keep them in there, Mr.
President.
Still nothing from Santos? No press advisories.
They haven't reserved any rooms for press conferences.
Josh must be strapped to a gurney with a gag in his mouth.
This is a mistake.
Good morning.
We're all struck by the difficult events in San Andreo.
I've been in constant touch with the Governor's Office, and I hope, as we all do, that the evacuation is only a precaution.
Do you still support nuclear power? Finish the statement.
And I hope that the situation will be resolved quickly and safely.
Your family's in the region.
Don't you question what you said in the debate? My family's not the issue.
You didn't answer the question.
Are you still pro-nuclear? Nuclear power didn't break those valves.
To blame nuclear technology itself whatever mess happened in Federal regulators are the ones who fell down on the job.
You can start a fire with a match, too, you know.
You're suggestiong this was the Bartlet administration fault? He just did.
And he strapped himself to that reactor.
This isn't a time to point fingers.
This is a time for national unity.
Which is why the President and I will be traveling to that region later this morning.
Thank you.
The President's wheels-up in an hour.
Tray tables and all.
I want you to lead a couple reporters toward those documents about Vinick and San Andreo.
I thought you didn't want our fingerprints on it.
Just drop hints, ask leading questions, do it off the record.
That's going to get out.
You the one who didn't want to Once the President bear-hugs Vinick the game is over.
Does Congressman now about this? Just go.
Leading questions.
Or we blow the biggest chance to win this thing we're ever gonna get.
President Vinick right? How could this not be a failure of Bartlet regulators? We don't even know the cause of the accident.
We're not going to speculate.
You can't deny that the NRC leaves tons of inspection procedures up to the plants themselves.
Five minutes until the motorcade leaves.
I'll see you on the plane.
I can't talk about the Aranenocide.
I know it'important, but it's non-binding.
Right now, I only have time for things that could spontaneously combust.
You ready? To fly into a massive cloud of radiation while thGrest of the country's making hats out of tin foil? Yeah, that was more of a rhetorical question.
You think we're flying into a massive cloud of radiation? I was dramatizing a point.
Thought you weren't talking to the press today.
I was hoping I could interest you in a little mumbling and whispering.
Biggest political story in six months.
I don't care if you start humming off-key.
You think this is the biggest Vinick's lobbying for that San Andreo plant.
Make your quote good, it'll be front page, column six.
Yeah, sorry.
Not talking to the press today.
Excuse me, Mr.
President.
Senator Vinick's asked for a moment.
Sure.
- Mr.
President.
- Arnie.
Thanks for bringing me along.
Standard protocol.
Well, I appreciate it.
I thought we might want to coordinate rhour statements for for the press availability.
You're expecting me to bash myself, too.
That wasn't aimed at you.
"Federal regulators"-- I think a few work for me.
Due respect, two broken valves and a radiation leak say some of them should look for other work.
Where's your bill to improve federal oversight? Senate leader on the issue, let's have your bill, I'll sign it now.
You've had eight years to do something on this.
You've had 25.
I'm not the one who manages it.
Nuclear power itself is safe.
Take a nuclear chain reaction, than Hiroshima, run it through a power plant every day, near families-- What management would negate the risk? Risk is everywhere.
People get into car accidents.
And when they do, they don't tell you stop eating produce three states away.
What's your answer? Solar? One-fifth of one percent of all our energy, at five times the cost? Wind? Another spike in OPEC prices? Nuclear is the only alternative.
It is not an alternative.
I know the regulation's a mess.
No regulation could make it safe.
We could barely evacuate a town Forgive me, Mr.
President.
The second team's closed the relief valve.
The crisis is over for now.
But the engineer who'd fallen into a coma-- he died 20 minutes ago from a cute radiation poisoning.
We'll get you uanother call sheet.
Two copies of that call sheet.
the Vinick campaign can't be happy with the Post's on-line scoop-- documents showing that Senator Vinick was a strong and early supporter of the San Andreo plant that now symbolizes, more than anything since Three Mile Island or Chernobyl, the cost and perils of nuclear power in the United States.
With 103 plants up and running You might get some questions as you deplane.
Apparently, Senator Vinick was involved in the original federal approval of the San Andreo plant.
You sure it's safe to take everybody out there? According to the EPA, the remaining radiation's within the acceptable dosage.
You're too young to remember duck and cover.
Sir? We'd hide under our little wooden desks at school.
At some point, they stopped the drills.
The threat was still there, they just stopped having the drills.
I guess they realize a piece of ply wood, wasn't gonna protect us against an atomic blast.
Newly-elected government's killed 114 protesters.
China's crossing the border into ethnic Chinese enclaves.
Russian troops are ready to enter as well.
We can't have China and Russia blowing each other to bits over election fraud.
Oil, really.
Fraud's just the kicker.
The Governor's waiting in the motorcade.
We've canvassed the NATO nations to see if there's an appetite for an international police force.
They've made clear it'd have to be put on U.
S.
troops operating from our bases, How many would Itly U.
S.
troops, have to send? CINCS are guessing Based on federal safety standards, evacuated residents will be allowed to return.
But we don't know the full effects of any radiation releases.
We may not know for months, maybe even years, and we have to be candid about that.
And so while we continue monitoring and testing, we will also help with the relocation of those residents who may not wish to return to San Andreo.
Thank you.
Senator! Senator Vinick! We're all relieved the worst is over.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family of James Cook, the federal engineer who gave his life to save others.
Should this make Senator Vinick question his energy plans for the country? I can't speak for anyone else.
Makes me question a lot about our energy plans.
Thank you.
based on our flash polls, more than a dozen states that had been squarely in the Vinick column-- including Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, his own State of California-- all states with nuclear power plants-- are now within the margin of error.
It's a political meltdown, that's for sure.
The Santos campaign is declining to comment, but they've been flooded with volunteers and donations since the news that Senator Vinick lobbied for the San Andreo nuclear generating station Advance wants to know if We're taking tomorrow off, too.
There's gonna be wall-to-wall press on this.
He's said all he's gonna say.
Best day of the campaign, and we didn't do a thing.
At the rate we're going, maybe we should take the whole month off.
When we're talking about education, we are talking about our most precious resource.
Matt Santos is a lot smarter and tougher than you think.
We got to take it to him.
We got to put Santos in a jam.
Kazakhstan isn't China's only oil source.
Their most promising one.
The Kazakh people, meanwhile, are rioting in the streets, 'cause they've just been screwed out of an election.
Worst case scenario-- two nuclear powers are positioning themselves to actively engage in an armed conflict over oil.
Did the Chinese invade? No, Kazakhstan is stable.
- What is it? - Some kind of nuclear accident.
- A weapon? - Power plant.
Is it Russia? San Andreo, California.
They think it might blow up.
What do we know? at 6:02 Pacific Time, emergency sirens went off at the Nuclear Generating Station in San Andreo, California.
The main feedwater pump failed.
Everything proceeded as expected.
A relief valve opened to let the water escape, the reactor scrammed.
It shut itself down.
But now a valve's malfunctioning, and coolant's stopped flowing into the reactor's core.
If they can't get coolant into the core The uranium fuel rods become exposed, which makes them highly combustible.
We could be looking at a full-scale nuclear meltdown.
- Full-scale, as in - FEMA thinks the plume could cover all of San Andreo.
Population 42,000.
Federal response teams are on the way.
Any word on the cause? It could be human error, a design flaw It's not likely terrorists would sneak in there and jam a valve.
We're rechecking all the relevant intel.
Has the public been notified? No, but when they shut down the reactor, there was a steam release that sounded something like a Concorde landing, and CNN's already running rumors of an explosion.
I want the FEMA Director and the Chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in here right away.
Get CNN to stop running rumors.
I'll make a statement in 15 minutes.
Sir, you really don't want to notify the public till there's a plan in place.
There could be widespread panic.
Then we'd better get moving on a plan, 'cause I'm making a statement in 15 minutes.
- Yes, sir.
- Thank you, Mr.
President.
Yes, we worry about what's happening in the culture.
We have two young children.
But censorship's like saying, I can't have a steak because a baby can't chew it.
Let's be careful.
- Yeah.
- He's good tonight.
As long as he keeps pivoting to the issues, I'm fine.
You told Rolling Stone you like Bob Dylan-- I was just wondering which is your favorite album? My favorite Bob Dylan album.
Uh, I guess I should say, uh, Highway 61 Revisited, and then we can just ease into transportation policy.
But really, it's, uh, Blonde on Blonde.
Believe me, there's no policy implications to that.
Did he just imply Jay Leno's gonna have a field day.
No big issue's captivated the voters.
You're surprised it's come down to geezer rock trivia? Wrap it up.
What? There was a nuclear accident in California.
Get to television, a laptop, get any details you can.
Santos is doing that "Rock the Vote" event in Tampa.
Probably pandering like mad to a bunch of pre-teens.
Better be some post-teens.
You're sending me up there tomorrow.
I'm sending you 'cause you talk like a President, not some latter-day Mick Jagger-in-chief.
Yeah.
Bruno.
I can tell 'em about my psychedelic phase, when I wore brown socks on the Senate floor.
Call me the second you get confirmation.
Confirmation on what? A, uh, problem with a nuclear plant in California-- San Andreo.
Might be an explosion.
San Andreo.
It's near San Diego.
Yeah, I know where it is.
What? I pushed the licensing commission to get San Andreo up and running 25 years ago.
Pushed? I helped get that plant online.
No one knows what's happened at the San Andreo Nuclear Plant.
We're waiting for confirmation of what appears to be some kind of nuclear accident.
All the PDDs from the past month.
The Office of Cabinet Affairs.
The entire office, page them all.
Yeah, it's an emergency.
We received numerous reports of a loud explosion, as well as reports of Arab tourists seen near the facility in the last two days How can they run these crazy rumors? The only thing certain in cases like this-- first reports are always wrong.
How we handle this in the next 90 minutes will determine whether there's panic within a 100 miles of every nuclear plant in this country.
We don't get a second chance to make a first impression.
Harry? The coolant in the reactor has dropped at least a foot, exposing an eighth of the fuel rods.
How can they get cool water in there? They're running a temporary feed line to bypass the broken valve while they figure out what's wrong.
In the meantime? They're activating an emergency heat removal pump.
The hope is that it'll lower temperatures enough to prevent a meltdown.
There's a second problem.
Yes, another valve is stuck open.
With the temperatures rising in the reactor, an awful lot of radioactive steam is being generated, and it's pouring into the containment building.
Are we worried about a radiation leak? We're worried they might have to pump radioactive gases into an auxiliary building, which is not built to hold them.
One poorly-welded seam How much radiation are we talking about? It's unclear, but administrators at Cal Vista Gas and Electric - They run the San Andreo plant.
- Yes.
They believe any leak would pose little or no threat to the public health.
Without knowing how big it might be.
It's chaos over there.
I couldn't even get them on the phone.
I want the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to take command of that plant, and I want to evacuate the area.
It's a state and local matter.
Get the Governor of California, right away.
Yes sir.
Governor Tillman wants to wait until we're absolutely sure it's necessary.
He'll argue that a rash, messy, nighttime evacuation - could be worse than - The Governor's on the line.
Gabe, you have to evacuate San Andreo.
We're all working off sketchy information.
'Cause trust me on this, we would rather have a few fender-benders on the I-5 than a generation of babies with thyroid cancer.
My FEMA Director is right here.
He'll coordinate with your State Emergency Services, and I'm going to declare a Major Federal Disaster.
You're gonna have every federal resource you need.
We're gonna get through this.
Mr.
President, with all the levels of government involved in this, maybe now's a good time to designate a czar, - a single point-person to oversee - You're looking at him.
We talked to the Senate office.
They're reaching out to the Governor's office, regional officials.
We've got hundreds of press requests.
I want to issue a statement supporting the Governor's evacuation plan.
We should couple it with a call for an investigation.
This has to have been a regulatory failure.
Yeah, we want to be careful, though.
Everyone knows the Senator is pro-nuclear.
He said it in the first debate.
That's why we have to act defensively.
The DNC's got to know he lobbied to get that plant opened.
Defensive, but not destructive.
What do you want? Jamie and your grandkids are in, uh, San Diego? Phone lines are jammed.
Cell phones, everything.
We'll put out a statement supporting the Governor.
The President wants to make a statement - in the next few minutes.
- Saying what? Whatever we can figure out in the next few minutes.
You wouldn't believe the rumors that are bouncing around here.
That there's a fire near the reactor, - and it's about to blow.
- Not exactly.
That we're shutting down every nuclear plant with the same design.
Not the dumbest of ideas, but no.
Look, the press are going to talk to everybody.
They're gonna speculate about everything.
I need you to grab hold of the information flow.
- I have no information.
- Welcome to the club.
Let's start with that statement.
What are the odds this leads to a meltdown? A meltdown isn't when one thing goes wrong.
It's when 12 things go wrong.
There must be six million people living within 100 miles of that plant.
Based on prevailing winds, FEMA recommends we evacuate 15 down, six and nine around.
It'll cover all of San Andreo.
and nine, like a clock.
But State Emergency Services want to do just ten down, six and nine around-- the legal minimum.
And tell 'em if they're fine with ten miles, the Governor and I will be setting up a command post at ten point one miles from the plant.
We'd like them to join us there.
The press ready for my statement? Readier than we are.
It's not like we have much to tell them.
Sounds like they're more comfortable with 15 miles.
Good evening.
there was a mechanical problem at the Nuclear Generating Station at San Andreo, California, which is causing the reactor's core to overheat.
There's been no explosion.
There's no indication of terrorism or foul play.
Engineers are working to address the problem right now.
Governor Tillman has begun an evacuation.
And I'm declaring a Major Federal Disaster and dispatching every possible resource.
We don't have all the facts.
You will have them as soon as we do.
But every level of government is working together on this.
No matter what happens, we're going to handle it.
So, what they're doing is bypassing the broken valve, running a new pipeline to get cool water into that reactor so it doesn't melt down.
Federal officials believe they can avoid the worst, but I can tell you I don't understand why they put a nuclear plant so close to a population center.
They're all near population centers.
Otherwise, they lose too much power in transmission.
So, the whole idea is kind of crazy.
Kind of.
You should give a big speech on that-- put out a whole new energy plan.
Or point out that Vinick's plan glows in the dark.
It's true.
Vinick's for nuclear power.
You've fought against it for years.
We could get every environmental group for a press conference.
Skip Oregon, campaign along the evacuation route, give out bottled water.
Can I talk to you? Let me know when they get the pipeline to the core.
Where's Leo? He's on a charter to Ohio.
He's gonna call in when he lands.
Get them to cool it on the political chatter.
I don't want us holding rallies on the Hindenburg.
Yeah, I'm gonna cancel our events tomorrow.
We can't be exploiting this.
Yeah.
And I don't think we're gonna have to.
You're anti-nuclear.
Vinick's got a long history on the other side.
This is all upside for us.
I say we go completely dark.
Let the press go after Vinick on their own, so they can't accuse us of playing politics.
I'm fine doing nothing on this issue.
I mean nothing on any issue-- no speeches, no press releases.
We just stay right here.
See which way the wind blows.
And what's blowing in it.
Have we cooled down the reactor's core? The heat removal pump hasn't had much impact; a 20-degree drop, but we're talking Hang on.
We've got a temporary coolant line to the core.
I don't see anyone popping champagne corks.
I thought if we got a line in there, we'd avoid a meltdown.
Radioactive steam is still gushing into the containment building, they had to start pumping it into the auxiliary building.
Which wasn't designed to hold it.
No.
It can accommodate up to 50 pounds of pressure per square inch, it's now at 34 psi and rising.
The coolant won't be enough to stop it.
And the fuel rods give off hydrogen gas.
Which is extremely explosive.
If we get near maximum pressure levels The containment building might be able to withstand that kind of a blast.
The auxiliary building cannot.
- So? - Unless we fix the valves soon, we have to vent a radioactive gas into the atmosphere to relieve the pressure.
How many people are still in San Andreo? About 30,000.
I don't want to release any radiation until everyone's been evacuated.
What's the alternative? An explosion that spreads radiation all over Southern California, maybe parts of Arizona and Nevada sir.
How much would we have to vent? We think it'd be within EPA's parameters for an acceptable dosage.
It's Santa Ana season in Southern California.
Which could be good.
If winds stay consistent, the radiation could drift out over the ocean.
How do we speed up the evacuation? Tell people we're about to spill radiation into the air good chance that'll speed 'em up.
How much time before we reach 50 psi? Maybe an hour.
Who would give the order? We've taken charge of the plant, sir.
That would be you.
DoE, EPA NOAA-- okay, let's get started.
I wanted all the agency spokespeople in one place so we could Yes, Blieden? - Have you got an update for us? - Radioactive steam's been spilling into the containment building, so much of it, they've had to pump it into another building.
but the other building can only hold it's now at 38.
We may have to vent radiation into the atmosphere to avoid a big bang.
Guys, guys, I don't have time to do this by Socratic method.
I called you all here cause each of your agencies is going to be involved in this, but no one-- not a single one of you-- is going to talk to the press.
All right? No one.
- I've got a call list ten pages long.
- I can assure you they've all called my office, too.
There will be one briefer: me.
What if this turns out to be the administration's fault? We can't withhold information from the public.
We won't be withholding anything.
We're trying to maintain calm, make it look like we know what we're doing, so there will be one voice, the dulcet tones of Will Bailey.
Get your souvenir programs in the lobby.
What about political questions? Vinick's the pro-nuke guy, in the first debate There will be one briefer, and I won't be answering political questions.
Guys? Guys? It's almost morning in Kazakhstan, sir.
The polls open in two hours.
Busy night for you.
It's always morning somewhere.
We have election monitors on the ground? Through the OSCE.
China needs to see this is a genuine democracy, not some Russian puppet government out to screw them out of their oil interests.
China's got troops along the border, if they think it's a phony election rigged to protect a Russian-installed incumbent They cross the border, so does Russia, and we have a war on our hands.
I'll have regular updates for you.
So we're at 46 psi? We don't have much time to relieve the pressure in that auxiliary building.
Where are we in the evacuation? Maybe a third of the people in the evacuation zone are out.
At least 700,000 from the region are pouring onto freeways.
- 700,000? - That's a conservative estimate.
Plus, there aren't enough busses and vans to take care of at-risk populations-- seniors, people with disabilities.
The governor wants you to activate military support from Camp Pendleton.
So ordered.
Do we have a direct line to the control room in San Andreo? The superintendent for operations is on now.
We've got helicopters overhead to get an immediate reading, to make sure we're within the acceptable dosage.
- Which is? - 500 millirems.
Is there any way to wait for support from Camp Pendleton? I don't like idea of the elderly and the disabled taking the brunt of this.
The longer we wait, the more chance of an explosion, and God knows how much radiation shooting into the atmosphere.
- Vent it now.
- Open the stack.
Opening auxiliary stack.
What do we mean by "acceptable dosage" anyway? It's the amount the body can safely absorb through direct exposure.
But radiation also enters the surface layers of the soil, where it's absorbed by plants and insects and enters the food supply.
It seeps into water sources.
When it does enter the body, sometimes it kills cells instantly, sometimes it forms damaged cells.
- Cancer.
- Yes, sir.
Stack opened.
Steady at 1,200 m-rems - 1,200?! - Inside the stack.
Once it's in the air, it'll disperse.
Anything below 500, we're fine.
We have to announce the number.
It'd make the evacuation Can we take another reading? Steady at 561.
It's more than we consider safe.
We have to let the people know.
Anyone who's not on the freeway will be looking for an on-ramp.
Make the freeway one-way.
No one feels comfortable in making that choice.
Santa Ana winds could shift at any time.
We're spilling radiation into the sky, people are jamming the freeways, and we don't know what direction they should drive? - Tell Will to announce the number.
- Yes, sir.
So you're saying the radiation release was at a dangerously unsafe level? No, I'm saying it was slightly above EPA's standard for an acceptable dosage.
The government believes it's safe? I didn't say that-- I'm just trying to present the facts.
An estimated one million people are fleeing Southern California.
Isn't the President worried about public panic? He's worried about public safety.
He's urging those outside the evacuation zone to stay home, so those in the zone can get out.
Will, is EPA going to brief on the levels of radia I'm briefing on that and everything else.
- What if we need more information on - Ask me and I'll get it.
Will, Assistant Secretary Blieden at HHS says the weather agencies are worried that winds will shift.
That people could be evacuating the wrong way.
- Blieden said that? - Yes, that NOAA and NARAC I'll get into it.
Plants that we already have.
Nuclear power is a completely safe, dependable energy source.
- Did you say - Of course we should build "Completely safe?!" Look, I don't want to be an alarmist here They've been playing Vinick's debate clip a lot.
They're starting to, yeah.
Site advance wants to know if we're scrubbing the whole Oregon trip.
The congressman doesn't want to politicize a tragedy.
We don't want to do a press statement in the morning? - A few interviews? - No interviews, no statements.
Not from us, not from the DNC, and not from anyone we control.
We could make a lot of hay out of this.
Vinick's the pro-nuke poster child.
No hay.
No posters.
The Oregon trip is off.
You may want to hang onto your pitchfork.
I'm behind you on all this, Gabe.
All right, bye.
How's the governor? Nervous.
I don't see why-- any angry constituents will just be vaporized anyway, right? Well, am I the only one left in the family with a sense of humor? Anything new? How about something old? What is it? Vinick lobbied for federal approval for San Andreo 25 years ago.
He's the reason the plant's there.
- When is this going to break? - I don't know.
The press is kind of preoccupied.
We don't want to nudge them along? We could put it out, yeah.
But then he could hit us back for playing politics with a mushroom cloud.
If the press finds it on its own, it'll be 900 times bigger.
- And what if they don't find it? - They will.
This isn't politics, this is policy, those places are unsafe.
It's a legitimate point.
in San Andreo is a phone line and a television set.
In New Mexico, in Arizona, in Colorado, people are getting in their cars and driving east.
And while higher-than-acceptable levels of radiation drift into the air, the White House won't say if we're past risk of a meltdown or explosion Hide these under your mattress.
unlikely to abate anytime soon There are health risks For now.
I don't like hearing the word "meltdown" on cable news; gone wrong yet.
By my count, we're barely at six or seven.
Well, they're still trying everything - to fix the valves.
- Who's "they"? Our engineers plus their engineers.
Lots of engineers.
Radioactive steam is going to build up in that damned auxiliary building again.
The more immediate concern is panic, the freeways are like parking lots.
Fox is running a story about a family in Michigan that's leaving the country.
How soon can I visit San Andreo without diverting resources from the evacuation? I could get FEMA's okay for you to travel tomorrow, assuming that the valves are fixed.
But there's substantial risk of Tell the press now I'm flying out tomorrow.
Sir, the steam is still building up, - if we have to vent more - If people know I'm going, maybe they'll stop buying one-way tickets to Norway.
And what about Senator Vinick? That's his home state.
We always invite the senators to join you on disaster trips.
Have we ever had a situation where one's a major-party nominee? And if we take Vinick, do we invite Matt Santos? - Maybe we're better off - Vinick's Senator from California.
He's on the plane if he wants to be.
Set up a call with Matt Santos.
Nuclear power is a completely safe, dependable energy source.
Fifth time this hour.
You know how many press requests we've got? - A bunch.
- Every network, every major newspaper, plus Japanese TV, internet radio.
There's probably requests from homing pigeons in here.
We have to say something.
"We support the governor's evacuation.
" We'll say it in Japanese.
The senator, on camera.
We have to give them fresh video or they keep running that debate clip.
- He should whack federal regulators.
- Bob.
The regulations are too lax! It's practically Scout's Honor.
We're in a great big glass house, we do not throw the first stone.
Okay, a moratorium on all new nuclear plant construction.
He cannot retreat from what he said in the debate.
Look, they're killing us out there-- and they still don't know our guy helped get that plant approved - in the first place! - Bob, I know Josh Lyman.
There is a reason he is camped out in Florida, the swingingest of swing states.
Santos is going to whack us, then we hit him back for politicizing a national disaster.
Well, that's a big roll of the dice somone weak pair of knees.
Trust me, Josh has the political equivalent of Tourette's Syndrome-- he can't help himself.
We wait for his next spasm, then we strike back.
Yeah, Bruno.
Yeah.
C.
J.
All right, I'll tell him.
The President wants the Senator to fly with him on Air Force One tomorrow.
To San Andreo.
Yes, Mayor.
There's coolant running into the reactor now.
Fingers crossed.
I thought a degree in economics was plenty for this job.
My kingdom for a plumbing license.
I have Matt Santos on the line.
Thanks.
Matt.
You look great out there.
When you're actually, you know, out there.
Just holding tight, Mr.
President, praying for the people of San Andreo.
Matt, I'm taking Arnie Vinick to California.
I know this could help him politically.
Yes, sir.
The senior Senator from California.
If I do anything else, I'd be playing game with a national emergency.
Well, you have to do what you think is best.
Keep me in your prayers too.
Yes, Mr.
President, I will.
Thanks It's an enormous gift.
Jed Bartlet's our radiation shield.
Now we're banking on the Democrat helping us? - Is Santos coming? - No.
Your state, not his.
What if the news of your lobbying for San Andreo breaks while you're standing next to the President? This is how we survive it.
Not if the story breaks while we're right there You don't you get it, do you? Santos is shut out of the trip.
Josh has to attack us now.
Flying down there links us to the disaster, and just hoping Josh Lyman's blood sugar spikes - isn't any kind of - I represent the state.
I'm taking that seat on Air Force One.
What is it? The temporary pipeline that runs cool water to the core-- it usually carries hot water, not cold.
- Okay.
- Imagine heating a glass to 700 degrees then poured ice water in it.
The pipe's cracking.
And the water level around the fuel rods is dropping again.
They've tried everything to fix the valves from the control room-- we have to send men into the containment building to fix them by hand.
I'm guessing the radiation in there is above the acceptable dosage.
Five times more.
Even with anti-contamination gear.
Who would we be sending in? Two mechanical engineers from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Civil engineers? There isn't some military team, some Pentagon specialists we could deploy? This is their job, sir.
You think when they started engineering school, they imagined the President would ask them to risk their lives by prying open a piece of pipe? I have a couple announcements to make.
The emergency secondary pipeline-- the temporary line that's bringing cool water to the reactor's core-- it's cracking and degrading.
Technicians are working to run new pipe, and two NRC engineers will be entering the containment building to try to fix the valves manually.
They must be taking an enormour risk just by walking in there.
It'a very dangerous work environment; they're trained for it.
Is more radioactive gas building up in the auxiliary structure? We're hoping we can fix the underlying problem before that's an issue.
You'd tell us we were on the verge of an explosion? I promised you the facts you gona get them.
VEP* say these kind of mechanical problems show clear regulatory failures on the part of the Bartlet There are lots of people who think they know what's going on.
Let me tell you who does: he briefs from this podium This isn't the Kremlin, Will.
How do we know you're not covering something? Second anouncement.
Tomorrow morning the President will travel to a command center outside the evacuation zone, he'll be accompanied by the California Congressional delegation.
He believes it's safe? The immediate danger is inside the zone.
Does this mean Senator Vinick's going? He's a member of the California delegation.
What about Congressman Santos? No other delegations are going.
Tough crowd in there! You told Time we were worried about wind shifts.
I got that from your office.
Which is why my office has taken you off the talking points distribution list.
I need those to do my job.
Not anymore; you're being transferred.
You no longer speak for this government.
For telling people the truth?! For telling people something which can only cause further panic.
Doesn't matter if it's true, doesn't matter if I've already said it.
We're trying to prevent mass hysteria in a climate in which even the truth can be misinterpreted, so we speak with one voice.
You're lucky you still have a job.
Guess you heard the President's taking Vinick to California.
Yeah.
It's his home state.
There's a protocol to these things, right? Well, let's hope everyone uses the correct fork.
It could hurt Vinick, Flying into the fallout He gets to be statesman, healer, and when is the press going to figure out that he got the plant open? Cable news is still running that debate clip.
More press requests.
Plus Governor of Colorado, head of the DNC, Governor These are all for me? They're wondering why we're holed up in Florida, instead of mobilizing the whole party to slam Vinick.
Prevailing winds.
Even the advance guys are begging us to get off the dime.
Tell Advance to stick to losing my luggage.
Vinick's coasting toward his bipartisan buddy weekend with the President.
The advance guys are right.
If we don't take him on, he's gonna It's estimated that the radiation levels inside the containment building are four or five times higher Just sent two engineers into the containment building-- like putting them in a microwave set on high.
Getting a few press requests.
By a few, you mean A million-gajillion.
Okay, that's not a real number.
I'm not talking Radio Free Yonkers.
Every morning show wants you for their lead segment, - every cable show - Are you changing your mind on this? I don't know, it's just the second Vinick gets on Air Force One, the second he has Jed Bartlet's arm around him, it's like a mega-dose of political penicillin.
One day with the President does not erase three decades of pushing plutonium.
Josh is right-- it gives Vinick a chance to absolve himself.
If the press find out he lobbied for San Andreo before he gets on that plane, there goes his get-out-of-jail-free card.
If we did anything, if our fingerprints are anywhere on that Maybe we get a third-party to do it.
Why hasn't anyone linked Vinick to that plant? Because they just sent two engineers into the containment building-- the press are probably on the freeways too.
If it comes out after that trip, after they become the Martin and Lewis of disaster management A couple network presidents called, direct appeals to do their morning shows.
and open the coolant valve to get cool water to the core.
You were right four hours ago; you're still right now.
Tell them thanks but no thanks.
Nothing on Drudge, nothing on the Note, nothing on the wires.
I don't know what Josh is waiting for.
The Senator has to say something on-camera before he gets on that plane.
No he doesn't.
Sympathy for the region, sympathy for the Redskins, I don't care what he says-- you want that debate clip to air another 6,000 times? Josh hits us, we call it bare-knuckled exploitation of a tragedy, and we let the President do the heavy lifting.
The President? Yeah.
We get him to say, right there in California, that accidents happen.
You think the President will defend us on nuclear power.
A nuclear disaster on his watch? He'll jump at the chance.
He'll be defending himself too.
Did you talk to the head of the Red Cross? They need more potassium iodine in the shelters.
- FEMA can work it through HHS - We took care of it.
Petcock's working, the valve's turning.
What happened? The engineers opened the coolant valve.
Once they make sure there's no overflow, we can pull them out.
What about the relief valve? Radioactive steam's still spewing into the containment building.
It's already been 17 minutes.
I didn't want them in there more than 15.
If they shut the other valve, we're out of the woods.
It'll take too long.
- It's an extremely toxic vironment.
- If more gas pours out of that structure, so is most of Southern California.
Plus, they are already in here.
You want to expose another team? How much longer would it take? Five, maybe ten minutes.
Ask them to try and shut down the other valve.
Ask them to move on to the relief valve.
- Yes, Mr.
Chairman.
- Excuse me, Mr.
President.
The polls just closed in Kazhstan; the Russian-installed incumbent Taramov.
He's been declared the winner.
Please tell me they counted the votes first.
Our election monitors are reporting widespread harassment-- beatings, mass arrests of civic activists.
We barely got China to hold their troops by scheduling this election-- this could lead to open hostilities.
We've already got 'em.
A pro-democracy riot's broken out in the Kazakh capital.
There's corrosion build-up on the valve stamp.
We're not getting enough torque.
They finally pulled out the engineers.
stop the steam leak.
Did you see my memo about your press availability with the President tomorrow? Bob wants me to make a statement from the Capitol in the morning.
before I get on Air Force One.
Yeah, Senator, I urge you not You want me to get the President to say accidents happen-- that's fine.
But Bob's right, I can't wait another seven hours to show my face in public.
You want to show your face and say what-- you've been wrong your whole career? Nuclear's peachy keen, while a million people are on the run? This wasn't a failure of nuclear technology.
This was a regulatory screwup.
You point fingers now, and it will look like you're trying to avoid taking any responsibility for this.
You know why Europe's greenhouse emissions are so much lower than ours? Nuclear power.
- Totally emissions-free.
- Sure, but You know how many Americans die from oil refinery explosions, from coal soot in the air? Tens of thousands, and not one from a nuclear-power anything in thirty years.
Okay, you're right, but that is still not Everytime they show that debate clip, it looks like I ran into that plant myself and spilled uranium on the floor.
Santos is going to hit us.
You have to wait.
That is how we change the story.
I'm going to give the press some footage besides that debate clip.
I need you to keep your political hat on.
We don't know how many voters'll be living in California by election day.
My lobbying for San Andreo is out there like a ticking time bomb.
We can't control the politics of this, not even close.
I'll talk to the President about his speech.
But I'm the Senator from California, and I'm going to make a statement before I get on that plane.
Both the engineers who were in the containment building-- they've been hospitalized for radiation sickness.
One's slipped into a coma.
Sir, they knew the danger better than us.
- You weren't wrong - No one ever told me their names.
James Cook is the one in James Cook and Mark Laroche.
We'll get call sheets for their families.
The pressure in the auxiliary building's up to 28 psi.
You may need to authorize a second team to try to shut the valve manually.
If you'd like, you can deputize the NRC Chair to make the call.
- If they don't solve the problem - 15 minutes and out.
Of course, but if they can't solve the problem, we may be looking at another venting of radiation.
And the Santa Anas don't stay consistent for long.
- If sea winds push them north - Call the Governor.
Make a contingency plan to widen the evacuation.
And I want updated weather models every half hour.
You weren't wrong to keep them in there, Mr.
President.
Still nothing from Santos? No press advisories.
They haven't reserved any rooms for press conferences.
Josh must be strapped to a gurney with a gag in his mouth.
This is a mistake.
Good morning.
We're all struck by the difficult events in San Andreo.
I've been in constant touch with the Governor's Office, and I hope, as we all do, that the evacuation is only a precaution.
Do you still support nuclear power? Finish the statement.
And I hope that the situation will be resolved quickly and safely.
Your family's in the region.
Don't you question what you said in the debate? My family's not the issue.
You didn't answer the question.
Are you still pro-nuclear? Nuclear power didn't break those valves.
To blame nuclear technology itself whatever mess happened in Federal regulators are the ones who fell down on the job.
You can start a fire with a match, too, you know.
You're suggestiong this was the Bartlet administration fault? He just did.
And he strapped himself to that reactor.
This isn't a time to point fingers.
This is a time for national unity.
Which is why the President and I will be traveling to that region later this morning.
Thank you.
The President's wheels-up in an hour.
Tray tables and all.
I want you to lead a couple reporters toward those documents about Vinick and San Andreo.
I thought you didn't want our fingerprints on it.
Just drop hints, ask leading questions, do it off the record.
That's going to get out.
You the one who didn't want to Once the President bear-hugs Vinick the game is over.
Does Congressman now about this? Just go.
Leading questions.
Or we blow the biggest chance to win this thing we're ever gonna get.
President Vinick right? How could this not be a failure of Bartlet regulators? We don't even know the cause of the accident.
We're not going to speculate.
You can't deny that the NRC leaves tons of inspection procedures up to the plants themselves.
Five minutes until the motorcade leaves.
I'll see you on the plane.
I can't talk about the Aranenocide.
I know it'important, but it's non-binding.
Right now, I only have time for things that could spontaneously combust.
You ready? To fly into a massive cloud of radiation while thGrest of the country's making hats out of tin foil? Yeah, that was more of a rhetorical question.
You think we're flying into a massive cloud of radiation? I was dramatizing a point.
Thought you weren't talking to the press today.
I was hoping I could interest you in a little mumbling and whispering.
Biggest political story in six months.
I don't care if you start humming off-key.
You think this is the biggest Vinick's lobbying for that San Andreo plant.
Make your quote good, it'll be front page, column six.
Yeah, sorry.
Not talking to the press today.
Excuse me, Mr.
President.
Senator Vinick's asked for a moment.
Sure.
- Mr.
President.
- Arnie.
Thanks for bringing me along.
Standard protocol.
Well, I appreciate it.
I thought we might want to coordinate rhour statements for for the press availability.
You're expecting me to bash myself, too.
That wasn't aimed at you.
"Federal regulators"-- I think a few work for me.
Due respect, two broken valves and a radiation leak say some of them should look for other work.
Where's your bill to improve federal oversight? Senate leader on the issue, let's have your bill, I'll sign it now.
You've had eight years to do something on this.
You've had 25.
I'm not the one who manages it.
Nuclear power itself is safe.
Take a nuclear chain reaction, than Hiroshima, run it through a power plant every day, near families-- What management would negate the risk? Risk is everywhere.
People get into car accidents.
And when they do, they don't tell you stop eating produce three states away.
What's your answer? Solar? One-fifth of one percent of all our energy, at five times the cost? Wind? Another spike in OPEC prices? Nuclear is the only alternative.
It is not an alternative.
I know the regulation's a mess.
No regulation could make it safe.
We could barely evacuate a town Forgive me, Mr.
President.
The second team's closed the relief valve.
The crisis is over for now.
But the engineer who'd fallen into a coma-- he died 20 minutes ago from a cute radiation poisoning.
We'll get you uanother call sheet.
Two copies of that call sheet.
the Vinick campaign can't be happy with the Post's on-line scoop-- documents showing that Senator Vinick was a strong and early supporter of the San Andreo plant that now symbolizes, more than anything since Three Mile Island or Chernobyl, the cost and perils of nuclear power in the United States.
With 103 plants up and running You might get some questions as you deplane.
Apparently, Senator Vinick was involved in the original federal approval of the San Andreo plant.
You sure it's safe to take everybody out there? According to the EPA, the remaining radiation's within the acceptable dosage.
You're too young to remember duck and cover.
Sir? We'd hide under our little wooden desks at school.
At some point, they stopped the drills.
The threat was still there, they just stopped having the drills.
I guess they realize a piece of ply wood, wasn't gonna protect us against an atomic blast.
Newly-elected government's killed 114 protesters.
China's crossing the border into ethnic Chinese enclaves.
Russian troops are ready to enter as well.
We can't have China and Russia blowing each other to bits over election fraud.
Oil, really.
Fraud's just the kicker.
The Governor's waiting in the motorcade.
We've canvassed the NATO nations to see if there's an appetite for an international police force.
They've made clear it'd have to be put on U.
S.
troops operating from our bases, How many would Itly U.
S.
troops, have to send? CINCS are guessing Based on federal safety standards, evacuated residents will be allowed to return.
But we don't know the full effects of any radiation releases.
We may not know for months, maybe even years, and we have to be candid about that.
And so while we continue monitoring and testing, we will also help with the relocation of those residents who may not wish to return to San Andreo.
Thank you.
Senator! Senator Vinick! We're all relieved the worst is over.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family of James Cook, the federal engineer who gave his life to save others.
Should this make Senator Vinick question his energy plans for the country? I can't speak for anyone else.
Makes me question a lot about our energy plans.
Thank you.
based on our flash polls, more than a dozen states that had been squarely in the Vinick column-- including Florida, Ohio, South Carolina, his own State of California-- all states with nuclear power plants-- are now within the margin of error.
It's a political meltdown, that's for sure.
The Santos campaign is declining to comment, but they've been flooded with volunteers and donations since the news that Senator Vinick lobbied for the San Andreo nuclear generating station Advance wants to know if We're taking tomorrow off, too.
There's gonna be wall-to-wall press on this.
He's said all he's gonna say.
Best day of the campaign, and we didn't do a thing.
At the rate we're going, maybe we should take the whole month off.