Nuclear power would steal agricultural and drinking water and require emergency storage for irradiated water

The Coalition’s proposed nuclear sites in Queensland would not have access to enough water to operate or manage a nuclear incident, according to an explosive new report by the Queensland Conservation Council. 

According to the Queensland Conservation Council, the proposed nuclear reactor in Callide would use more than double the water currently allocated to the existing Callide power station, while the proposed Tarong nuclear reactor would use 50 per cent more water than is allocated to the existing coal power station.

We’ve just hit 14 years since the Fukushima nuclear accident. This report shows that during the Fukushima emergency, the nuclear facility was flooded with 1.3 million cubic metres of sea water to prevent the plant from blowing up. There is no such water allocation for emergency response in Queensland dams, nor a storage solution for the potential millions of cubic metres of heavily radioactive water that such a disaster would create.

Queensland Conservation Council Director Dave Copeman says:

“The findings of this report are damning for the Coalition’s nuclear fantasy. There simply is not enough water available in the proposed locations to run nuclear facilities, and no plan for where to store irradiated water required for heat reduction in the case of an emergency. It would be a health and environmental catastrophe if highly irradiated water was returned to these dams.

“The Coalition is not being honest with farmers and the community about the realities of their nuclear scheme. At best it’s impractical, at worst it’s grossly irresponsible and could result in a major incident.

“We’ve seen during droughts that there’s not enough water for existing coal power stations, especially in Central Queensland, so coal units have to wind down their operation. 

“So the Coalition’s ‘plan’ is to build the most expensive form of electricity generation that won’t be ready in time to replace our retiring coal power stations, and then won’t be available at times because of water constraints. 

“You know what doesn’t use a lot of water? Renewable energy and it’s already powering 40 per cent of Australia.”