Three reactors at a French nuclear plant have been shut down after a massive swarm of jellyfish clogged seawater intake filters used to cool the facility.
The Gravelines nuclear power plant, near the northern city of Dunkirk, is the largest in Western Europe, with six 900-megawatt reactors.
EDF, the state-owned utility that owns the site, has been forced to implement security measures to manage a “massive influx” of jellyfish that had entered the plant’s water intake pipes and pumping stations.
The plant is cooled by pumping water via a canal directly from the North Sea. Thousands of gallons of water are drawn in per minute, and it is here where the jellyfish entered. The huge mass present in the pumping station’s filtration system was effectively blocking any water from entering the plant. Without a continuous flow of cold water, the reactors could overheat causing significant structural damage.
The influx triggered an automatic shut down, with three out of the six reactors entering what...