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Scientists say that the warmer waters of the North Sea due to climate change have created conditions allowing jellyfish to prosper and reproduce.
Four reactor units in one of the largest nuclear power plants in France were forced to close due to a swarm of jellyfish in the pumping stations of the plant, said Electricite de France (EDF).
Three reactor units were automatically closed Sunday evening in Gravelines on the English channel, followed by the early fourth on Monday morning, said EDF, adding that the safety of the factory, its employees and the environment was not in danger.
“These closures are the result of the massive and unpredictable presence of jellyfish in the filter drums of the pumping stations,” EDF said in a press release.
The factory of the north of France is one of the largest in the country and is cooled from a channel connected to the North Sea.
The teams carried out inspections to restart the site “safely,” said EDF, adding that the reactors that were closed should restart on Thursday.
The beaches around the Gravelines, between the major cities of Dunkirk and Calais, have increased in the jellyfish in recent years due to warming waters and the introduction of invasive species.
The bulletin of atomic scientists wrote in 2021 that jellyfish invaded incapable nuclear power plants are “neither new nor unknown” and that there was a substantial economic cost due to the forced closure of power plants.
Scientists are currently exploring means to avoid closings due to sea swings, in particular using drones to map the jellyfish movement, which would allow early intervention.
“The jellyfish reproduce more quickly when the water is warmer, and because areas like the North Sea become warmer, the breeding window is becoming wider,” said Derek Wright, consultant in marine biology of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, at the Reuters press agency.
“The jellyfish can also hikes on tank ships, entering the ballast reservoir of ships in a port and often walking in the waters halfway around the world,” he said.
An invasive species known as the Asian moon jellyfish, originally from the northwest of the Pacific, was first seen in the North Sea in 2020. The species, which still prefers water with high levels of animal plankton, such as that of ports and canals, caused similar problems before in ports and nuclear plants in China, Japan and India.
EDF said that he did not know that the species of jellyfish involved in the closure, but it is not the first time that jellyfish has closed a nuclear installation, although such incidents are “quite rare” – the last effect on EDF operations was in the 1990s.
There have been plants in other countries that have been closed due to the invasions of jellyfish, including a three -day closure in Sweden in 2013 and an incident of 1999 in Japan which caused a major drop in power.
Experts say that overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change have created conditions for jellyfish to thrive and reproduce.
EDF said there was no risk of electricity shortage due to closure, saying that other energy sources, including solar energy, were operational.
