U.N. Tells Japan's Tepco To Improve Conditions At Fukushima Reactor

After a rough stretch of weeks that included storage containers leaking radioactive water and power failures, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has called on the operators of Japan's battered Fukushima nuclear campus to improve its "essential systems."

The news comes from BBC, which also reported the beleaguered nuclear power station was forced to switch off a reactor cooling system only hours before the U.N. call came.

The latest shutdown was triggered after workers spotted rats near critical equipment. Rats have been known to chew through electrical wires and have been associated with at least one power failure at the Fukushima Daiichi campus.

The tsunami-battered nuclear power plant has suffered three power failures in five weeks.

"Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power) should continue its efforts to improve the reliability of essential systems, to assess the structural integrity of site facilities and to enhance protection against external hazards," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday, according to BBC.

The IAEA sent a team of experts to the Fukushima Daiichi power plant from 15 to 22 April to review the government's decommissioning plans for the plant. The agency's full report should be completed by the end of the month. 

Experts have said it will take decades to full decommission the plant.

"In my view, it will be near impossible to ensure the time for the decommissioning (for) such a complex facility in less than 30, 40 years as it is currently established in the roadmap," said Juan Carlos Lentijo, the head of the IAEA team.