Jellyfish Inundation in the North Leads to Shutdown of Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant
In the coastal town of Gravelines, northern France, four reactors of one of Europe's largest nuclear power plants have been interrupted due to an unexpected visitor - jellyfish. The Rhizostoma octopus jellyfish, to be precise. This is not a unique occurrence, as similar events have been reported in other locations, including Israel.
Roger Spautz, a nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace France, suggests that such issues with jellyfish may become more common in the future, especially in the context of climate change. As global warming continues, jellyfish populations are expected to surge, thereby raising the likelihood and frequency of nuclear plant disruptions.
Jellyfish blooms can clog intake screens and filters in cooling water systems, interrupting water flow essential for cooling reactors. This triggers automatic shutdowns to prevent overheating and damage to turbines, boilers, and condensers. The dead jellyfish can turn into a gel-like substance, causing problems deeper inside the systems, complicating cleaning processes that may take days and involve safety risks to workers from stings.
Climate change contributes significantly by raising sea temperatures and altering marine ecosystems, which favors jellyfish proliferation and extends their breeding windows. Additionally, factors like plastic pollution provide breeding grounds near coastal plants, further increasing infestation risks.
Delphine Thibault, a professor of oceanography at the University of Aix-Marseille, explained that massive arrivals of jellyfish are generally linked to current phenomena. The jellyfish phenomenon at the Gravelines power plant is a rare occurrence and has previously happened in the same power plant 30 years ago and in Israel in 2011.
Despite the shutdown, there is no risk of an electricity shortage in France due to the Gravelines nuclear power plant's closure. France historically has low summer electricity consumption. Ludovic Dupin, director of information for the French Nuclear Energy Society (Sfen), stated that there will be few consequences due to the shutdown. He added that the automatic stops of the reactors have not impacted the safety of the installations, the safety of personnel, or the environment.
The Gravelines power plant expects to return to normal operation in a few days. Some scientists believe that the threat of jellyfish-related shutdowns could become more recurrent with climate change due to the potential increase in water temperature favoring jellyfish reproduction. This threatens consistent power supply and causes substantial economic costs, as seen in the recent incidents at the Gravelines plant.
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