World Association of Nuclear Operators  The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) is a not for profit, international organisation with a mission to maximise the safety and reliability of the world’s commercial nuclear power plants. The organisation’s members are mainly owners and operators of nuclear power plants. It was established on 15 May 1989 following the nuclear accident at Chernobyl (Ukraine). After the accident, nuclear operators worldwide began to work together through WANO to improve safety, reliability and prevent recurrences. Experience shows that many accidents could have been prevented if lessons had been learned from previous incidents. WANO unites every company and country that has an operating commercial nuclear power plant to achieve the highest possible standards of nuclear safety and reliability. The organisation enables members to provide mutual support, exchange safety knowledge and operating experience, and share best practices with each other to improve performance. WANO’s members operate approximately 460 nuclear units in over 30 countries and areas worldwide. WANO helps members communicate effectively and share information openly through its five main programmes: Peer Review, Performance Analysis, Member Support, Training & Development and Corporate Communications. It is not a regulatory or advisory body, or a lobbyist for the industry. WANO has offices in London and Hong Kong, and regional centres in Atlanta, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo. WANO’s mission is 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 practice. The tragic accident at the Chernobyl generating station in 1986 was both an end and a beginning for the nuclear industry. 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, or WANO. WANO's inaugural meeting was held in Moscow on 15 May 1989. It was jointly hosted by Lord Walter Marshall of Goring, the chairman of Britain's largest utility, the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB), and Nikolai F Lukonin, the USSR's Minister of Atomic Energy. Around 140 delegates from 29 countries pledged their backing for the organisation and signed its new charter. Today, it supports more than 130 members who operate approximately 460 civil nuclear power reactors around the world. In 1990, WANO published its first WANO Good Practice on "Plant Predictive Maintenance" and the organisation begun its Performance Indicator (PI) programme to collect key performance data from members.