A huge swarm of jellyfish has forced France’s Gravelines nuclear power plant to shut three reactors and reduce output from a fourth, after the animals clogged parts of the seawater cooling system. EDF took reactors 2, 3 and 4 offline as a precaution, while reactor 1 was limited to half its normal output. A fifth reactor was already out for planned maintenance, leaving only one of the site’s six units operating at full capacity. Gravelines, one of France’s largest nuclear power stations, relies on seawater from a canal linked to the North Sea to cool its reactors. The latest disruption comes a year after jellyfish caused a much wider shutdown at the same plant, prompting EDF to install additional cameras and introduce earlier monitoring measures. Fishing boats were also sent to reduce the swarm’s density before it reached the plant, while vacuum trucks were used to clear jellyfish already caught in the system.
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