Jellyfish shut down France’s largest nuclear power plant
11 August 2025 16:01
Four power units at the Gravlin nuclear power plant in France have stopped working after jellyfish blocked the reactor cooling system. This was reported by the operator company EDF, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Reactors 2, 3, and 4 automatically shut down on the night of Sunday to Monday between 23:00 and 00:00, and unit 6 shut down at 06:20 on Monday. The other two reactors were undergoing scheduled maintenance at the time of the incident.
According to EDF, a large number of jellyfish got into the filter drums of the pumping stations that cool the nuclear reactors with seawater. This led to the blocking of the water supply system of the non-nuclear part of the complex.
The company assured that the incident did not pose a threat to plant personnel, the environment or nuclear safety. Experts are currently diagnosing the equipment and preparing the power units for safe restart.
Gravlin NPP, located on the North Sea coast, has a total capacity of 5,460 MW and is one of the largest nuclear power plants in Europe. The plant provides a significant part of the electricity supply to the northern regions of France.
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Wildlife and nuclear power plants: unusual cases
The case in France is not the only example of the interaction between wildlife and nuclear power plants. Warm waters around nuclear power plants often attract a variety of marine life, creating unusual ecosystems near industrial facilities.
For example, in Florida, American crocodiles are actively breeding in the cooling channels of the Turkee Point nuclear power plant, with a record number of nests found there in 2022.
Sea turtles also get into the cooling systems of nuclear power plants – in just one year, 933 sea turtles were caught at the St. Lucie plant in Florida.
Usually, such a neighborhood does not pose a threat to anyone and does not lead to the shutdown of nuclear power plants.
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