L
LequteMan
Guest
Tonnes of jellyfish on Sunday clogged the pipes that bring in cold water to cool Reactor Number Three's turbines at the Oskarshamn nuclear turbines in Southeastern Sweeden, sending operators into a flurry of activities.
The pipes have now been cleared of jellyfish and engineers are preparing to restart the reactor, which according to plant operator OKG is the largest boiling-water reactor in the world at 1,400 megawatts of output.
All three Oskharshamn reactors are boiling-water types.
Nuclear plants need a constant flow of water to cool their reactor and turbine systems, which is why many are built near large bodies of water.
The species that caused the Oskarshamn shutdown is known as the common moon jellyfish.
Jellyfish are not a new problem for nuclear plants.
Last year, California-based Diablo Canyon facility had to shut its reactor two after gobs of sea salp - a gelatinous, jellyfish-like organism - clogged intake pipes.
In 2005, the first unit at Oskarshamn was temporarily turned off due to a sudden jellyfish influx.
