Proposed Queensland nuclear power plants risk contaminating water supplies in event of disaster, research finds

A nuclear power plant in Dampierre-en-Burly, France. Proposed nuclear power plants in Queensland could strain capacity on drinking water and irrigation supplies even under normal operations, an analysis has found. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Proposed nuclear power plants in Queensland could strain water supplies, even under normal operations, and risk contaminating them in the event of a nuclear disaster, critics warn.

Analysis by the Queensland Conservation Council (QCC) has found that one of the two nuclear reactors proposed for the sunshine state, under the energy plan that the Coalition will take to the upcoming federal election, could require double the water currently used by the existing Callide coal-fired power station. The other, Tarong, could use 55% more water than its existing coal station.