THE reactor at the Hunterston nuclear power station had to be shut

down as a precautionary measure after nearly 50 tonnes of jellyfish

threatened to interfere with its cooling water.

The shutdown, which happened last year, is revealed in Scottish

Nuclear's annual health and safety report for 1992/93.

The incident was one of eight ''reactor trips'' -- unplanned shutdowns

normally initiated by the operation of the station's automatic safety

equipment -- revealed in the report.

The eight ''trips'' represented a 100% increase over the previous

year.