A swarm of jellyfish has forced the shutdown of one of the largest nuclear power plants in France after entering the water intake systems used to cool the coastal reactors, reports The Guardian.
Three reactors at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France shut down automatically late on Sunday, according to the French nuclear company EDF, after the filter drums of the pumping stations became packed with a “massive and unpredictable” swarm of the marine creatures.
The entire nuclear plant, capable of powering about five million homes, was brought offline when a fourth reactor shut down shortly after the free-swimming invertebrates jammed the power plant, which had already lost its two other reactors for planned summer maintenance work.
EDF, which is owned by the French state, said the event did not affect the safety of the facilities, staff or the environment. There does not appear to be any change to electricity exports from France to the UK.
The Gravelines plant draws water used in its cooling systems from a canal connected to the North Sea, which is home to several native species of jellyfish often seen around the shoreline in the summer when the waters are warmer.
Jellyfish have a long history of derailing the normal operations of coastal power plants, which tap the ocean for the vast amounts of cool water needed to keep temperatures in check.
Read more of this report from The Guardian.