A young Australian nuclear energy advocate has branded social media users “fools” after facing an avalanche of backlash for hugging a container of nuclear waste.
Nuclear for Australia founder Will Shackel, 18, shared a photo on social media of himself smiling, arms outstretched as he hugged the nuclear waste container just below his danger warning sign.
The pro-nuclear activist took the photograph while visiting Sizewell B, the only commercial pressurized water reactor power station in Suffolk, eastern England.
‘I just hugged a nuclear waste container. “It is full of fuel elements that have been used in Sizewell B to provide clean, reliable energy to millions of Britons,” he wrote.
“Importantly, the fuel still retains most of its energy, meaning this waste could present future opportunities.”
Social media users criticized Mr. Shackel, with many claiming he would suffer the consequences of radiation exposure from the stunt.
“Future opportunities or future radiation injuries,” one person commented.
‘OH MY GOD. “Have you bought a wig to cover your hair loss?” wrote a second person.
Nuclear for Australia founder Will Shackel, 18, received a barrage of negative comments after sharing a photo of himself hugging a container of nuclear waste at Sizewell B, the commercial power station in Suffolk, eastern England ( in the photo).
The young pro-nuclear activist (pictured) called the comments “immature” and claimed that the “so-called adults” who wrote them did not have the correct information or knowledge about nuclear energy.
‘Will simply hugged a container of nuclear waste. Maybe her eggs will shrink and she won’t reproduce,” said a third.
A fourth added: “That’s embarrassing.” Do something good for the world, become a veterinarian or doctor. Maybe a human rights lawyer.”
A fifth said: “You really need a girlfriend.”
Will told Daily Mail Australia the comments he received from “so-called adults” showed a lack of understanding about nuclear energy.
“I pointed out that the radiation I was exposed to as a result of being next to that spent fuel container was so insignificant that I probably received much more radiation on my flight from Brisbane to London,” he explained.
‘I think people probably need to take a hard look at themselves and maybe their science as well.
“Because some of those comments about my hair loss and fertility, that kind of thing, were just ridiculous.”
He said many Australians and politicians who opposed nuclear power often relied on references to The Simpsons rather than credible scientific research.
Will said many Australians and politicians who were against nuclear power often referenced The Simpsons rather than verified scientific research (pictured, Victorian Prime Minister Jacinta Allan’s team produced this The Simpsons-inspired meme Simpson).
Pictured, Deputy Minister for Competition, Charities and the Treasury, Dr Andrew Leigh, shared a Photoshopped image of Blinky Bill with three eyes in front of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.
The Albanian government faced intense backlash earlier this year over a fear campaign targeting Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy policy.
Labor MPs flooded social media with references to The Simpsons, including the toxic spills that created three-eyed fish and koalas.
“There has been a huge information gap in Australia about nuclear energy and for that reason The Simpsons is often the only source of information for people,” Will said.
Will said it was a “huge risk” for Australia to pursue a 100 per cent renewable energy policy, and the country needed a balanced mix of renewable and nuclear energy.
“For Australia not to choose to not have all options on the table, to have this tunnel vision approach to our energy system is actually quite dangerous,” Mr Shackel said.
‘Whether it’s missing climate targets, risking the lights going out, or losing industries and even future industries and the jobs it would create.
“I am really worried about my future and that of my generation if our politicians do not take action to lift the ban on nuclear energy.”
Will said while Nuclear for Australia did not endorse any party in the upcoming election, the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy was a “welcome development” (opposition leader Peter Dutton pictured).
Shackel backed Dutton’s initiative to build seven nuclear power plants in Australia as part of his election promise.
The reactors would be built at seven former coal-fired power stations across Australia under its nuclear power plan, including Muswellbrook’s Liddell station in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley.
“I wish the coalition had done something about nuclear power and lifted the ban when they were in government, but it is certainly encouraging to see Australia finally talking about nuclear power,” Mr Shackel said.
The recent Year 12 graduate explained that he was always interested in technology due to his concern about the energy transition and the climate crisis in Australia.
Will added that he was never taught about nuclear energy at school and founded Nuclear for Australia in 2022 after discovering that Australia was the only one of the top 20 economies to have a ban on nuclear energy.
It has since become the largest nuclear defense organization in the country, with more than 77,000 supporters, including philanthropist Dick Smith.
Smith warned that Labor politicians will eventually be forced to support nuclear power as he believes his green energy plan is doomed to fail.
“They will be convinced because there is simply no alternative,” Mr Smith said.
‘We will have blackouts: you cannot govern a country with intermittent solar and wind energy; It’s impossible.
‘I understand that every state has a ban on nuclear power, and we also have a federal ban on nuclear power, so those bans will have to be lifted.
“We are one of the largest sellers of uranium in the world, but we have legislation that says you can’t even consider that, and that is completely ridiculous.”
He also stated that the costs were not prohibitive.
‘I believe in climate change and I am worried about my grandchildren.
‘I think the only answer the world has to address climate change is to turn to nuclear energy, adopt it.
‘The government says it is too expensive, but I said that countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan have adopted nuclear energy and they are poor countries, so it is not logical that Bangladesh can afford nuclear energy and Australia cannot.
As for nuclear waste storage, Mr Smith suggested the Olympic Dam in South Australia, which is also a well-known uranium deposit.
“I was at the Olympic Dam mine; there are huge cavities where we extracted the uranium, and that’s where we have to store the waste,” he said.