Overview
- A “massive and unpredictable” swarm of jellyfish packed the cooling-water filter drums at Gravelines between Aug. 10 and 11, causing automatic shutdowns of reactors 2, 3, 4 and 6 and leaving all six units offline.
- EDF confirmed there was no impact on nuclear safety, personnel or the environment and mobilized teams to perform diagnostics and clean intake filter drums.
- Initial projections for a Thursday restart have been adjusted, with EDF now scheduling one reactor to resume each day as inspections progress under its recovery plan.
- The company is still identifying the jellyfish species responsible and evaluating measures to prevent future marine intrusions into the non-nuclear pumping systems.
- Marine experts warn that rising sea temperatures, invasive blooms and ecosystem shifts are increasing the risk of similar disruptions to coastal energy infrastructure.