I feel so conflicted re: nuclear power. I’ve visited Fukushima countless times, and saw up close how a disaster can devastate an entire region. What I can say is that nuclear comes w/ serious environmental justice issues, where the risks of generation are not shared equally. https://twitter.com/justinhgillis/status/1290017669056303104

Dear people lecturing to me that "no one died" in Fukushima: Please stop.

One email from a nuclear industry official literally started with “I’ve not been to Fukushima, but..” and ended with “people who live near reactors mostly like them.”

It’s hurtful for me, and many others, to read that kind of email. Please stop sending them.

I understand that there is a debate to be had over nuclear power’s role in averting the climate crisis — especially keeping existing plants online. (I think building new reactors is doomed cost-wise, but debate me on that. I am willing to listen.)

But don’t come to me and try to minimize the immense human suffering that the Fukushima nuclear disaster caused. Deaths are the least of it. Don’t be a terrible human being. The end, good night.

Exactly. This growing revisionist take on Fukushima really pains my heart. Don’t people realize that if the evacuations were indeed “unnecessary” — it makes the socioeconomic upheaval that did ensue even more tragic, not less?
https://twitter.com/krogerfoot/status/1290123902098628614?s=21 https://twitter.com/krogerfoot/status/1290123902098628614

Tell me with a straight face that you and your family would have stayed put next to Fukushima Daiichi in the early days of the accident. With all due respect, you have no idea what you’re talking about.
https://twitter.com/hardfloor74/status/1290132287976353799?s=21 https://twitter.com/hardfloor74/status/1290132287976353799

My point wasn’t: Never nuclear. We’re in a climate crisis and we likely need all options on the table, incl nuclear. But folks can make that point w/out being callous about Fukushima — the suffering there was real (and shared unequally). I’m not sure how that’s controversial.

Also folks who talk about Japan overreacting w/ the Fukushima evacuations forget that the US issued an even more extreme, 50-mile radius advisory for US citizens days after the accident, news of which caused even more panic on the ground. The advisory wasn’t lifted for 6+ months.

Good thread on Fukushima, nuclear safety and science-based policy from @WorldNuclear policy analyst @6point626 https://twitter.com/6point626/status/1290604342697955328