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A massive and unpredictable swarm of jellyfish
has caused one of the largest nuclear power
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plants in France to completely shut down.
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According to the Guardian, the jellyfish swam
into the water intake systems at the Gravelines
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facility in northern France.
The resulting clog in the filters caused 4 of
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the plant’s 6 pumping stations to cease
operation.
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The other two were already shut down for
maintenance, leaving the systems needed to cool
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the reactors completely offline.
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Energy company EDF said the marine mammal
traffic jam happened in a non-nuclear section
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of the plant, so a radioactive disaster was
averted.
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But the plant does provide power for up to 5
million homes,
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so a lengthy disruption could impact a lot of
people.
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Nuclear plants are often set up in coastal
regions for easier access to the massive
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amounts of water needed to cool the facility,
and that proximity to the jellyfish habitat
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means the invertebrates regularly
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clog the works.
It’s enough of a recurring problem that the
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University of Bristol actually developed a tool
for providing early warnings when nearby
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jellyfish congregations get too close to
nuclear power plants.
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Unfortunately, the jellyfish problem could be
getting worse.
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Derek Wright, a marine biology consultant at
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
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Administration, told Sky News that warming
water and increased plankton in the North Sea
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is making the body
water much more hospitable to jellyfish
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breeding.
If the problem persists, will a jellyfish swarm
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eventually reach a nuclear reactor and mutate
into a horde of giant radioactive sea creatures?
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Probably not, but just in case, the Oceanic
Invertebrate Research Institute said additional
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strategies like chemical disbursement and
active removal can be used to keep the
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jellyfish in the ocean where they belong.
I’m Ben Munson,
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and this is Manufacturing Now.