TEPCO, the operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, has suspended the clean-up of radioactive water over an unexpected radiation peak in a part of the system intended to absorb caesium.

The Saturday increase in radiation levels halted the clean-up a mere five hours after the operation got under way, a spokesperson of Tokyo Electric Power announced, as quoted by international media.

An estimated 110 000 tons of highly radioactive water used to cool the reactors of the quake-stricken plant may overflow into the sea in a week unless the clean-up operations resume.

In the meantime, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded that Japan had failed to observe basic safety regulations at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

A report of IAEA showed that Japanese authorities had misapplied the international principle for building multiple protection layers to guard against outside threats.

Although the country had stepped up security measures in the aftermath of the 2002 tsunami, the improvement was insufficient, according to IAEA.

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