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French nuclear power plant shut down due to swarm of jellyfish
French nuclear power plant shut down due to a swarm of jellyfish. File Photo by Gary C. Caskey/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 12 (UPI) -- One of the largest French nuclear power plants was temporarily shut down after a swarm of jellyfish entered the water intake systems used to cool the coastal reactors, on Monday its operator said.
The swarm clogged up the cooling system, causing four units to automatically switch off, according to the nuclear company EDF.
EDF said there had been "no impact on the safety of the facilities, the safety of personnel, or the environment".
"The plant teams are mobilized and are currently carrying out the necessary diagnostics and interventions to be able to restart the production units safely," EDF said in a statement.
The animals slipped through the system because of their "gelatinous" bodies, nuclear engineer Ronan Tanguy said. "They were able to evade the first set of filters then get caught in the secondary drum system."
In 2021, a similar incident occurred when the Torness nuclear plant in Scotland, was shut down for a week after jellyfish clogged the seaweed filters on its water intake pipes.
