OUR HISTORY
After the accident at Three Mile Island, the Carter administration formed the Kemeny Commission to investigate the incident and to provide recommendations for operational changes at nuclear power plants. INPO was formally established in December 1979, in response to the commission’s recommendations. INPO was tasked with monitoring and evaluating appropriate safety standards — including those for management, quality assurance, and operating procedures and practices at nuclear facilities.
Additionally, INPO was established to provide a systematic gathering, review, and analysis of operating experience at all nuclear power plants — coupled with an industrywide international communications network to facilitate the speedy flow of this information to affected parties.
World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO). United in an understanding that nuclear safety was in their common interest, leaders from across the global nuclear power industry set aside their competitive and regional differences and came together to, in the words of their stated mission, “maximize the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants worldwide by working together to assess, benchmark and improve performance through mutual support, exchange of information and emulation of best practices.”
Today, WANO represents more than 120 members operating over 430 nuclear power reactors through four regional centers in Atlanta, Paris, Moscow and Tokyo — as well as offices in London and Shanghai. Shanghai is currently in the works to become a fifth WANO regional center.
