20 YEARS AFTER CHERNOBYL

Improved nuclear safety – Chernobyl’s legacy

As a direct result of the Chernobyl accident, the world’s nuclear operators gathered together in Moscow in 1989 to form WANO – the World Association of Nuclear Operators. WANO was Chernobyl’s legacy, the nuclear industry’s commitment to prevent another Chernobyl from happening again. By working together through WANO the global nuclear industry has improved the safety and reliability of the world’s nuclear power plants.

“Chernobyl was both an end and a beginning,” says Luc Mampaey, managing director of WANO. “The accident sent shockwaves through the nuclear industry and marked the end of the old ways – the ways of isolation. It began a new focus on safety through international cooperation.”

From the beginning, every utility that operates nuclear electricity generating stations in the world has been a member of WANO. Membership now totals 443 nuclear reactors in more than 30 countries. This unanimity is the key to WANO’s strength and its value.

WANO has a very clear mission – ‘To maximise the safety and reliability of the operation of nuclear power plants by exchanging information and encouraging communication, comparison and emulation amongst its members.’

WANO’s work is achieved through four complementary programmes:

·       peer reviews – in addition to each plant’s ongoing critical self-assessments, WANO provides an independent team of professionals to examine plant safety. WANO now runs between 30 and 40 peer reviews each year.

·       operating experience – event reports from nuclear power plants worldwide are collected by WANO. The lessons learned are passed on to every nuclear plant in a series of reports and an on-line operating experience database.

·       professional and technical development – an information exchange forum is provided through workshops, seminars, expert meetings and training courses. WANO regional centres conduct more than 80 such courses and workshops each year.

·       technical support and exchange – more than 120 technical support missions are conducted each year, where a group of highly qualified peers visits a plant to solve a specific issue.

“The nuclear industry has made great progress since Chernobyl,” says Mampaey. “However, we will not sit back and take this success for granted. We owe this to the memory of Chernobyl.”

World Association of Nuclear Operators
Coordinating Centre
Cavendish Court
11–15 Wigmore Street
London W1U 1PF
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7478 9200

Visit the WANO website at: www.wano.info

Notes for editors

About WANO

The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) was formed in 1989, in the aftermath of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, to improve safety at every nuclear power plant in the world.

WANO’s mission is to maximise the safety and reliability of nuclear power plant operations by exchanging information and encouraging communication, comparison and emulation among its members.

As every organisation in the world that operates a nuclear electricity generating plant is a member of WANO, it is a truly international organisation, cutting across political barriers and interests. WANO is an association set up purely to help its members achieve the highest practicable levels of operational safety, by giving them access to the wealth of operating experience from the worldwide nuclear community. WANO is non-profit making and has no commercial ties. It is not a regulatory body and has no direct association with governments. WANO has no interests other than nuclear safety.