A scene of tranquility and calm in Sweden.
Workers at the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant
quietly go about their daily business. Unaware
that something is lurking in the water. Preparing
to strike. Well preparing to get in the way,
anyway. And the culprits. Gelatinous blob
creatures, of course. Or as you and I know
them, jellyfish.
It's like a headline from a budget monster
movie. Jellyfish close nuclear power plant.
And it's not as if they're particularly big.
But get enough of them together, and there
could be trouble. Many nuclear power stations
built next to lakes or the sea, as they need
water to cool the reactors. Unfortunately
the Baltic Sea rather packed with jellyfish
at the moment. The plant's boss Johan Sveningsson
telling TV news it's a rare occurrence.
"It's very unusual that one has to shut the
plant down completely. On a few occasions
we've had to reduce the effect and run on
a lower level but to completely shut the plant
is very unusual for us. It has happened around
the world but for us it's very unusual."
The plant's three reactors producing 10 per
cent of the entire country's electricity.
Now all cleaned up and expected to be back
in operation very shortly.
