Members of the World Association of Nuclear Operators have unanimously approved a series of recommendations from its post-Fukushima Commission, endorsed by its Board. These include changes to WANO's core peer reviews, establishment of a worldwide integrated event response strategy, and extending the scope of reviews from operational safety to include plant design upgrades. They represent a shift from just accident prevention to prevention and mitigation. Peer reviews will now be every four years, with follow-up visits in between, and sanctions to apply for non-compliance. The extended role for WANO will require a near-tripling of staff for the organization’s four regional centres and the London coordinating centre, from 0.3 person per reactor unit to 0.8 person/unit, and a corresponding funding increase (though WANO fees are still only about 5% of what a typical utility pays for insurance).
A new centre in Shenzen, southern China, would be established as a world centre for pre-startup reviews. These have become an important activity in recent years, since serious accidents before Fukushima had tended to occur at fairly new plants where the transition from a “construction mentality” to an “operations mentality” was incomplete. WANO said that Fukushima “was not a failure of WANO” but that the accident had identified “gaps” in its activities, and that the new measures “will close these gaps.” WANO membership involves all of the world's nuclear power plant operators, as well as reactor vendors and other organisations involved with nuclear safety.
WANO 25/10/11, Platts 27/10/11. Safety of nuclear plants
Other papers updated on the WNA Public Information Service (see WNA web site):
China NP, China fuel cycle, US fuel cycle, Lithuania, Heavy manufacturing, Bulgaria
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