"The preparation of a new water decontamination mechanism at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant hit a fresh setback on Tuesday when one component switched itself off during a test, bringing the wider system to a standstill, the facility's operator said (see GSN, June 20).
Tokyo Electric Power has battled to prevent radioactive contaminants from escaping the six-reactor Fukushima facility following a March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 20,000 people dead or missing in Japan. The cleaning system -- installed recently in an effort to treat radiation-tainted liquid flooding large portions of the facility -- was originally intended to enter full operation last week. The plant could soon exhaust all space for storing additional contaminated fluid, Kyodo News reported."