French nuclear plant shuts three reactors over jellyfish

The Gravelines nuclear power plant in northern France shut down three reactors on Monday after a swarm of jellyfish clogged pumps used to cool the units, operator EDF said Tuesday.

EDF said output at a fourth reactor was cut by half, leaving one reactor operating at full capacity. A sixth reactor at the site was already offline for scheduled maintenance.

The company said the situation had no impact on the safety of the facilities, personnel or environment. The plant, near Dunkirk, has six 900-megawatt reactors and is the largest in Western Europe.

The Gravelines plant was also temporarily taken offline a year ago after jellyfish clogged its seawater pumping stations. France's nuclear output has been disrupted this year by heatwaves and droughts, with EDF closing several reactors in June and July because of extreme heat.

AFP calculations based on EDF data showed a 15.6% shortfall in French nuclear power production on Sunday, before the latest closures.