Jellyfish Swarm Forces Shutdown Of France’s Largest Nuclear Plant
Jellyfish swarm clogs pumps, forcing France’s largest nuclear plant shutdown.
France’s Gravelines nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear facility in Western Europe, was forced to shut down three reactors after a large swarm of jellyfish clogged pumps used to draw cooling water into the plant. The disruption occurred on Tuesday, August 11, exactly a year after a similar jellyfish-related incident affected operations at the facility.
Operator EDF reported that only one of the plant’s six reactors was operating at full capacity when the incident occurred. Three 900-megawatt reactors were taken completely offline, while another operated at half capacity. The sixth reactor was already shut down for scheduled maintenance, significantly reducing the plant’s electricity output.
EDF maintained that the incident did not pose a threat to the plant, its employees or the surrounding environment. Teams were deployed to clear the affected pumping equipment and restore the reactors to the national electricity grid. The exact species of jellyfish involved in the latest incident had not been identified.
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Fishing vessels were also deployed in the area as part of round-the-clock preventive operations. Three boats were reportedly patrolling the coast, collecting jellyfish in trawlers before releasing them offshore. At the plant, workers were cleaning the pumping stations and associated equipment as part of efforts to resume normal operations.
The incident comes after several French nuclear reactors faced disruptions during June and July because of extreme heat and drought-like conditions. Nuclear power generation in France had recorded a shortfall of 15.6 per cent before the latest disruption, according to an AFP report. Jellyfish have previously caused similar problems at nuclear facilities in other countries, including Sweden and Japan.
Large jellyfish swarms can interfere with nuclear power plants because reactors rely on substantial quantities of water for cooling. Researchers have linked the increasing prevalence of jellyfish in some marine areas to factors including warming seas, overfishing and pollution. The latest incident at Gravelines once again highlights how marine conditions can unexpectedly affect critical energy infrastructure.
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