If a nuclear disaster were to occur at the Coalition’s proposed nuclear facility in Gippsland, Leongatha would be spared, but not Morwell or Warragul, according to detailed maps released today by advocacy group Don't Nuke the Climate.

The maps show the impact of winds blowing north, south, east and west from the proposed Loy Yang nuclear site near Traralgon.

The westerly map shows the impact could reach as far west as Ballarat, as far north as Albury and as far east as Cape Conran.

A nuclear disaster at the Loy Yang site would impact around 84,000 people living within a 30km “evacuation” zone, the largest number of people at any of the proposed sites.

What is the Coalitions plan?

The Coalition has proposed to build seven nuclear power reactors across Australia if it wins this year's federal election. There would be two small modular reactors (one each in South Australia and Western Australia) and five large nuclear reactors spread across retiring coal-fired power station sites in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

One of these sites is Loy Yang power station, a brown coal-fire power station on the outskirts of Traralgon.

Nuclear disasters are rare but can have devastating consequences. The new research draws on data taken from the Fukushima disaster and maps pollution plumes and evacuation zones over the Coalition’s seven proposed nuclear sites.

How did the Fukushima accident happen?

The Fukushima nuclear accident began on March 11, 2011, and is regarded as the largest nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, leading to the evacuation of 190,000 people.

Although there was only one official death caused by the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster, nearly 20,000 died due to the tsunami and flooding, and another 2,313 were listed as "disaster-related deaths".

"The premature disaster-related deaths were mainly related to physical and mental illness brought about by having to reside in shelters and the trauma of being forced to move from care settings and homes; and delays in obtaining needed medical support because of the enormous destruction caused by the earthquake and tsunami," the World Nuclear Association said.

In 2012, Japan's then prime minister Yoshihiko Noda said the state shared the blame for the disaster.

Although triggered by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami event, the “root causes of the problem were corruption and grossly inadequate regulations”, according to Dr Jim Green, who led the research project and is a national nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth Australia.

“We can look to Australia to see these sorts of problems playing out in real time,” Green said. “The regulation of Australia's nuclear industry and the uranium industry has been uneven at best and at worst, it's terrible.

“We would need confidence that there's going to be the strictest level of regulation, even though that has not been the pattern in Australia.”

What would be the impact on the Latrobe Valley?

Green said the maps “should serve as a wake up call for people living near the Loy Yang site”.

The research showed that Traralgon hospital, which is within 15km of the site, would be hit with highly concentrated radiation in the event of an accident.

There are 31 schools, 16 childcare centres and six hospitals and health facilities within the 30km Loy Yang evacuation zone.

The World Health Organization reports that nuclear disasters lead to an increased risk of solid, thyroid and breast cancers and leukemia.

How prepared should we be?

In an interview with the National Account, Green said “nuclear disasters, they're rare, but the impacts are shocking, and that includes a vast amount of death and disease, and also the economic costs of the Fukushima disaster were around $1 trillion”.

“Even though these nuclear disasters are rare, we need to be prepared, and we need to think carefully about if we want to subject ourselves to those risks.”

How can we prevent a future disaster in Australia?

Green said with the sites located well away from coastlines, it would be difficult to transport enough water to keep the nuclear reactors cool to prevent a large-scale accident.

“One thing I am concerned about is that you need a vast amount of water when a disaster happens to keep the reactors cool and to prevent further accidents,” he said.

“How on earth are they going to do that at these inland sites that have been proposed by the Coalition? It really just doesn't square.”

A statement from a Latrobe City Council spokesperson said that “At this point in time, Council does not have an adopted position on nuclear energy as it isn’t currently an option in Australia.”

Correction: Dr Green was interviewed by the National Account's Archie Milligan. A previous version of this story misattributed.