Cooling systems of coastal power plants, both nuclear and conventional, pump water from the sea in vast quantities to cool the reactors, and then pump the warm water back into the sea. The warmer water attracts marine creatures that are then trapped in the intake systems and killed. The one centimetre mesh screens are not sufficient to keep young and small fish, particularly pipe fish and eels, and eggs and larvae out. With more power stations planned over the next 20 years, these could take a drastic toll on stocks.
Nuclear plants are one of the biggest extractors of water though coal-fired stations and installations such as seen in the petrochemical industry also pose similar issues. Though the number, weight and species of fish and crustaceans caught in the filters at power plants can be measured, it is almost impossible to quantify the death of eggs, larvae and small fish. Larger fish that feed on prawns, shrimps, young fish and eggs will also be affected in the long run. At the Dungeness nuclear power station at Romney Marsh, Kent, the outfall pipes have been clogged with as much as “250 million fish in as little as five hours." The study reveals that the English Channel, with a number of nuclear power stations on the coast on both sides of the channel, is one of the worst affected.
June 2008
