Shamim Jahangir: Bangladesh will become a member of World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) to ensure safety and secure operation and maintenance of the country’s maiden nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna.
Chaired by Science and Technology Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman, an inter-ministerial meeting has taken the decision last month.
The Nuclear Power Plant Company Ltd Bangladesh (NPPCLB) will be the member of WANO on behalf of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh will have to pay 30,000 Euro for enrollment fees annually, reliable sources said.
For the world’s nuclear operators, it ended any illusions that they could work solely within the confines of their companies or countries. Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 made it clear that an event at one plant impacted every plant and that nuclear safety was everyone’s business.
Faced with this reality, the leaders of every commercial nuclear reactor in the world set aside their competitive and regional differences and came together in 1989 to create the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO), said the objective of the organisation.
To maximise 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.
WANO has evolved significantly from its inaugural meeting in Moscow on 15 May 1989. Today, it represents more than 120 members who operate more than 430 civil nuclear power reactors around the world.
WANO consists of a Governing Board, a central office in London and regional centres in Atlanta, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo, each with their own regional Governing Boards. Policy is set by the Governing Board and all policies and programmes are implemented by the WANO London office and the regional centres.
WANO’s Governing Board is accountable to the members for the association’s overall direction and success. To promote direct engagement of members at a high level, the Governing Board includes three members from each regional centre in addition to the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Each regional Governing Board Chairman is automatically a WANO Governing Board member and the regional Governing Boards each nominate two additional candidates from their region, one of whom is expected to be the chief executive that represents the area’s largest or most influential member.
WANO’s Chairman is elected by the Governing Board for a four-year term and can serve for no more than four consecutive years, unless the Board decides otherwise.