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A28    SCIENCE
                  Monday 28 october 2019
            Shutdown of nuke plant has a surprising stinging consequence



            By WAYNE PARRY                                                                                                      from the creek to cool the
            Associated Press                                                                                                    plant, but its former owners
            STAFFORD  TOWNSHIP,  N.J.                                                                                           balked,  saying  that  would
            (AP)  —  The  shutdown  of                                                                                          cost  too  much.  Instead,
            one  of  the  nation's  oldest                                                                                      they  reached  an  agree-
            nuclear  power  plants  last                                                                                        ment with the state to shut
            year  is  having  a  surprising,                                                                                    the plant down earlier than
            stinging  consequence  for                                                                                          they had intended.
            a  New  Jersey  bay  consid-                                                                                        So  far  the  increased  num-
            ered  one  of  the  nation's                                                                                        bers  of  jellyfish  are  being
            most fragile.                                                                                                       found  mainly  in  two  loca-
            The  environmental  group                                                                                           tions near the former plant,
            Save Barnegat Bay held a                                                                                            in  the  Forked  River  section
            conference     Wednesday                                                                                            of  Lacey  Township,  and  in
            where  scientists  noted  the                                                                                       Toms River.
            increase of tiny jellyfish near                                                                                     But  scientists  say  they  ex-
            the  Oyster  Creek  nuclear                                                                                         pect the sea nettles to ex-
            power plant.                                                                                                        pand into parts of the bay
            The stinging sea nettles that                                                                                       and into other waterways.
            had  been  sucked  into  the                                                                                        Fish  and  crab  populations
            plant and killed by heated                                                                                          could benefit from the shut-
            water are now thriving and                                                                                          down, even as species that
            multiplying.                                                                                                        were drawn to the warmer
            The  influx  has  some  worry-                                                                                      waters now leave the area.
            ing about swimming condi-                                                                                           The  plant  used  an  almost
            tions in the area, while other   This Oct. 17, 2019 photo shows the shoreline of Barnegat Bay in Waretown, N.J., near where the   unfathomable  amount  of
            say the plant closure should   former Oyster Creek nuclear power plant used to operate.                             water each day to cool its
            begin to restore conditions                                                                        Associated Press   reactors: 1.4 billion gallons,
            to where they were before                                                                                           Bilinski  said.  Now,  only  5%
            the  plant  became  opera-   long,  so  long  that  our  skin  diate  effect  of  the  plant  that  were  killed  by  travel-  of  that  amount  circulates
            tional in 1969.              was  all  pruned  up,"  said  shutdown  is  the  beginning  ing through the water as it  through the plant, and the
            "This  is  one  of  the  unin-  Britta  Wenzel,  Save  Barne-  of a return to conditions in  surged  around  the  radio-  artificial  channel  connect-
            tended  consequences"  of  gat  Bay's  executive  direc-  the bay that existed before  active  parts  of  the  plant,  ing  the  Forked  River  and
            the  plant's  shutdown,  said  tor.  "My  kids  had  their  first  the plant went online.  picking up heat.         the  Oyster  Creek  is  almost
            Paul  Bologna,  a  professor  swimming      experiences  "Conditions are going back  But  that  same  heat  that  stagnant,  "like  a  lagoon,"
            at  Montclair  State  Univer-  in the bay, and in a lot of  to what they were 50 years  killed the fish and crab eggs  Bilinski said.
            sity  known  for  his  research  places,  you  can't  do  that  ago," he said. "It's starting to  also did an effective job of  That  means  fish  and  tur-
            on jellyfish. "There are huge  anymore."                  restore an equilibrium."     killing  tiny  jellyfish  polyps,  tles  are  no  longer  being
            numbers of them out there  The  nuclear  plant,  which  Environmentalists       had  Bologna  said.  Now,  in  the  trapped  up  against  intake
            now,  substantially  more  closed  in  Sept.  2018,  had  long  sought  the  closure  absence of heated water,  grates.  But  is  also  means
            than  we  had  been  seeing  been altering conditions in  of  the  plant,  arguing  that  those tiny jellyfish are surviv-  that  some  species  of  fish
            in 2018."                    the  bay  for  decades,  dis-  its  heated  discharge  wa-  ing and thriving.          that  had  been  drawn  to
            Bologna  and  others  pre-   charging  water  that  was  ter  harmed  the  bay.  They  The  plant's  heated  water  the  warmer  waters  of  the
            sented  their  findings  at  a  10 degrees hotter than nor-  also  cited  the  large  num-  played  a  role  in  its  shut-  bay  have  now  largely  dis-
            three-day  conference  on  mal.                           bers of fish and turtles that  down. New Jersey environ-  appeared.  Several  long-
            Barnegat Bay organized by  Joe Bilinski, research scien-  got pinned against suction  mental  officials  had  want-  term studies are underway
            the environmental group.     tist with the New Jersey De-  grates at the plant's water  ed it to build closed-system  measuring changes in and
            "When  I  was  a  kid,  we  partment of Environmental  intake  pipes,  and  the  mil-  cooling towers to eliminate  around  the  bay  after  the
            played  in  the  bay  all  day  Protection,  said  the  imme-  lions of fish and crab eggs  the  need  to  draw  water  plant's shutdown.q


            Cleaning plant troubles could lead to hospital tool shortage



            WASHINGTON  (AP)  —  Hos-    officials said Friday.       plies used in heart surgery,  FDA  acting  commissioner  other reusable instruments.
            pitals  could  soon  face  The  Food  and  Drug  Ad-      knee replacements, C-sec-    Ned  Sharpless,  in  a  state-  Hospitals use various clean-
            shortages  of  critical  sur-  ministration  flagged  the  is-  tions  and  many  other  pro-  ment,  adding  that  the  ing   methods,   including
            gical  tools  because  sev-  sue in an online statement  cedures.                      shortages  "could  compro-   heat, steam and radiation.
            eral plants that sterilize the  to  medical  professionals,  The warning follows the re-  mise patient care."       But the oxide gas is the only
            equipment have been shut  saying  the  result  could  be  cent closure of several ster-  The FDA urged hospitals to  method for cleaning many
            down,  government  health  years  of  shortages  of  sup-  ilization  facilities  that  use  inventory their supplies and  devices made from plastic,
                                                                      ethylene  oxide.  The  gas  is  alert government officials if  metal  or  glass,  according
                                                                      critical  for  cleaning  medi-  they face major shortages.  to the FDA. About half of all
                                                                      cal  equipment,  but  it  can  The agency said regulators  sterilized  medical  devices
                                                                      be  hazardous  at  elevated  could help identify alterna-  in the U.S. are cleaned with
                                                                      levels  and  is  increasingly  tive  devices  for  those  im-  the gas, according to stud-
                                                                      being  scrutinized  by  state  pacted by the issue.       ies cited by the agency.
                                                                      health  and  environmental  Sterilization  is  a  daily  pro-  Exposure to dangerous lev-
                                                                      officials.                   cess at hospitals and many  els  of  ethylene  oxide  can
                                                                      "The  impact  resulting  from  other health care facilities,  cause  cancer  including
                                                                      closure  of  these  and  per-  used  to  remove  bacte-   leukemia and lymphoma ,
                                                                      haps  more  facilities  will  be  ria  from  medical  scopes,  according  to  the  National
                                                                      difficult  to  reverse,"  said  catheters, surgical kits and  Institutes of Health. q
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