A swarm of jellyfish blocked pumps used to cool reactors and forced the temporary shutdown of a French nuclear plant, according to French energy group EDF.
As The Guardian reports, three reactors at the Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France shut down automatically late on Sunday last.
EDF said the filter drums of the pumping stations became packed with a “massive and unpredictable” swarm of the marine creatures.
A fourth reactor then shut down at a time when two other reactors had been shut for scheduled maintenance.
The French state-owned company said the event did not affect the safety of the facilities, staff or the environment.
It is not the first time jellyfish have had an impact on coastal power plants, which draw large amounts of cool water from the ocean.
The Torness nuclear plant in Scotland, which is also owned by EDF, was forced to shut for a week in 2021, and a week in 2011, after jellyfish clogged the seaweed filters on its water intake pipes.
Nuclear and coal power plants in Sweden, Japan, the Philippines and the US have also been affected.
Read The Guardian here
