Electricite de France was forced to shut four atomic reactors after a swarm of jellyfish clogged up filter drums at its Gravelines power plant.
The "massive and unforeseen” presence of jellyfish in the filter drums of pumping stations closed four out of six reactors at Gravelines on the north coast of France, EDF said in a statement on Monday. Pumping stations for coastal nuclear plants usually draw in sea water for cooling, sometimes exposing them to marine life.
A marine heat wave is intensifying off the west coast of France, with unusually warm waters in the English Channel near Gravelines, data from Copernicus Marine Service show. Jellyfish populations can "bloom” at such times, and France has closed several beaches in recent weeks due to invasions of the marine animals with stinging tentacles, according reports compiled by the beach information app Meduseo.
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