Jellyfish Prompt Generation Cuts At Japanese Nuclear Power Plant

[hatrack]

A mass of jellyfish proved an unlikely thorn in the side of the Japanese nuclear industry this week when they choked a pipe which feeds cooling water into a coastal plant.

The output from the Hamaoka reactors was slashed by 30 to 40% after the cooling system automatically shut down, returning to full power about three hours later once workers had cleared the jellyfish blockage.

EDIT

http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=11755&channel=0

Extremely short article.

Jellyfish?

[phantom power]

1. Damn those giant mutant nuclear jellyfish. Damn them, I say.

[hatrack]

2. And they're SO unappetizing!!

:toast:

[phantom power]

8. You know....

if we've gone and caused the oceans to be overrun with huge schools of jellyfish and squid, I say, it's possible to eat anything, if it's deep-fried.

[Dead_Parrot]

13. Plus we can use all the used cooking oil for diesel

Problem solved.

[SteppingRazor]

3. These are not your normal, run-of-the-mill jellyfish...

Japan has been plagued in recent years by the massive increase in the population of a certain species of giant jellyfish. From National Geographic:




Now can you see how a pipe can get clogged?

[phantom power]

4. Radiation makes them HUGH!

[SteppingRazor]

7. Yes, yes. No doubt next Japan will be attacked by a gigantic radioactive..

LIZARD!




:eyes:

[hatrack]

12. History shows again and again, how Nature points out the folly of men -

GODZILLA!!!!

[NNadir]

14. I need to point out that Godzilla was created by...

...nuclear weapons testing and not nuclear power.

Mothra though, I'm not sure about.

[reichstag911]

5. That would cert5ainly be big enough...

...to clog Ted Stevens' internets' tubes! Everyone, calamari!!!

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Or this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=61018&mesg_id=61018

[MuseRider]

9. YIKES!

I have seen lots of jellyfish in my life, been stung by a few but I have never, ever seen anything like that. A sight like that just might end my diving days!

I am assuming they are essentially harmless but damn!

[SteppingRazor]

10. Oh, they're not harmless...

From wikipedia:

"While stings of this large jellyfish are painful, they are not usually toxic enough to cause serious harm in humans. However, the jellyfish's sting has been reported as fatal in some cases by causing a build-up of fluid in the lungs. As a precaution, fisherman encountering these jellyfish wear eye protection and protective clothes. To date there have only been eight reported deaths from the Nomura's sting."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomura%27s_jellyfish

[MuseRider]

11. Thanks.

I had bookmarked this to read when I had the time (even though it is short).

Ocean creatures always awe and inspire me but I had never heard of a jellyfish this large. That is really something.

[bananas]

15. Looks like a pussy with diaphragm