IAEA head expects security zone to be established around Zaporozhye NPP soon

MOSCOW/BERLIN. Dec 12 (Interfax) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has said he expects that a safety and security protection zone around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant would be agreed upon and established soon.

"We are making progress in our consultations with Ukraine and Russia and I'm hopeful the zone will be agreed and implemented soon. It is urgently needed," Grossi said in a statement published on the IAEA website.

The situation at the Zaporozhye NPP "remains precarious, fragile and potentially dangerous," he said.

A fourth team of IAEA experts has arrived at the plant to replace those who have been there for the past several weeks, he said.

The Zaporozhye NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. It operates six 1,000-MW VVER-1000 reactor units. Its first reactor was put into operation in December 1984 and the sixth in October 1995.