The operations of a new decontamination system at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were suspended Saturday, the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said.
The new treatment system is supposed to clean highly radioactive water that has been accumulating at the plant and preventing critical repair work., DPA reported.
The decontamination operations that started Friday were stopped Saturday afternoon after the radiation level of a component meant to absorb radioactive caesium had reached its limit and needed to be replaced, plant operator TEPCO said.
The contaminated water is runoff from the coolant that was injected after the plant's reactors stopped functioning following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Meanwhile, memorial services were planned Saturday, the 100th day since the Great East Japan Earthquake, as it has come to be known, struck 70 kilometres out at sea, killing 15,400 people. More than 7,700 people are still officially missing.