Radiation safety

Qatar: UAE nuclear plant threat to Gulf stability, environment

Qatar has said a nuclear plant under construction in the UAE poses a serious threat to regional stability and the environment.

In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), seen by the Reuters news agency on Wednesday, Qatar also called the Vienna-based organisation to create a framework for nuclear security in the Gulf.

Relations between Qatar and its neighbour are already strained after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic, trade and transport ties with the government in Doha in June 2017. The breach came over allegations that Qatar supports "terrorism", a charge the country denies.

In its letter, Qatar said that a radioactive plume from an accidental discharge could reach its capital in five to 13 hours and a radiation leak would have a devastating effect on the region's water supply because of its reliance on desalination plants.

The contested Barakah nuclear power plant is located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.