The WANO Organisation

The organisation of WANO is deliberately uncomplicated. WANO’s work is largely carried out by its members, while the WANO staff, whose main role is to facilitate the running of WANO’s programmes, is kept small to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. Care is taken to ensure that members are well represented in the policy making governing boards of WANO.

Membership of WANO is through one or more of its four regional centres, Atlanta, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo, and is determined by geographical location or reactor type. There is also a coordinating centre in London. The regional centres carry out the WANO Governing Board’s decisions and organise WANO’s programmes. Much of their work involves collecting, screening and analysing operating information before sending it to members and ensuring WANO programmes meet member needs.

Each regional centre has a director and highly experienced staff seconded from member organisations for two to four years. Secondees bring specific plant knowledge and an understanding of their own country’s operating culture to the WANO centres. In turn they take back to their own organisations broad experience obtained from working at the centres and an insight into other members’ operations.

The regional centres are semi autonomous, with their own regional governing boards, but they work closely together as a team to ensure exchange of ideas and consistent implementation of WANO policies.

Every two years senior executives of all members are given the opportunity to meet at a Biennial General Meeting to review progress and provide guidance for the future aims and objectives of WANO. At each Biennial General Meeting a WANO President is elected. This is an honorary position with a two year term.

A central Governing Board provides the overall direction of WANO and establishes WANO policies. It is made up of an elected chairman, and two representatives from each Regional Governing Board. The directors of the WANO centres also attend the meeting. This board meets three times a year. The WANO Chairman is elected for a two year term, which can be renewed once.

Organised to meet members’ needs