Jellyfish Force Nuclear Plant to Shut Down

A swarm of jellyfish forced one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe to shut down over the weekend, reports the Guardian. The Gravelines nuclear plant in northern France, which typically supplies electricity to about 5 million homes, was forced offline late Sunday after its cooling system's filters were overwhelmed by a massive influx of the creatures, per the New York Times.

According to French energy giant EDF, three reactors at Gravelines halted automatically when the jellyfish clogged the plant's water intakes. A fourth reactor followed soon after, leaving the entire facility offline. The plant's two remaining reactors were already out of service for scheduled summer maintenance. EDF says there was no safety risk to staff, local residents, or the environment.

Gravelines draws its cooling water from a canal linked to the North Sea, an area where jellyfish are a familiar sight in warmer months. While screens are in place to prevent marine life from getting sucked in, a large swarm can render them useless. That's partly because dead jellyfish "liquefy into a gel" and slip through, a University of Bristol expert tells the Times. The facility was still working on getting the plant back up and running.