Jellyfish disabled the largest nuclear power plant in Western Europe

Électricité de France, which operates the largest nuclear power plant in Western Europe, said that “the current situation does not affect the safety of installations, personnel or the environment.”

Earlier this year, France already faced disruptions in nuclear power production due to multiple heat waves and drought, with EDF shutting down several reactors in June and July due to extremely high temperatures.

Fishing companies with which the NPP management established cooperation managed to limit the impact of the jellyfish accumulation, but did not completely prevent it. Now jellyfish are pumped out using sewer trucks; new accumulations are not arriving in the station area, which should allow shutdown power units to be restarted in the near future.

Scientists warn that such incidents could become more common due to a number of factors, including global warming, the emergence of invasive species, loss of predator habitat and overfishing. All this created ideal conditions for jellyfish to thrive and reproduce.