Tiny Sea Creatures Plague South Korean Nuclear Plant Operations
- Sea salps clog water intake valves at Hanul nuclear plant
- Hanul units No. 1, 2 also shut in March due to the organisms
Photographer: Getty Images
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Sea salps -- gelantinous, marine organisms that look like jellyfish -- may be small, typically measuring less than 10 centimeters tall. But the tiny creatures are turning out to be a major pest to South Korea’s nuclear industry.
The organisms have clogged water systems used to cool Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.’s Hanul No. 1 and No. 2 reactors, forcing them to shut Tuesday, the second time in less than three weeks the units were taken offline due to sea salps. The reactors, which each have a capacity of 950-megawatts, were offline for about a week in late March.