WANO and NEA to Cooperate on Nuclear Safety Culture

World Nuclear News Oct. 4, 2017

According to an item* in World Nuclear News, the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on "the further development of approaches, practices and methods in order to proactively strengthen global nuclear safety."

One objective is to “enhance the common understanding of nuclear safety culture challenges . . .”  In addition, the parties have identified safety culture (SC) as a "fundamental subject of common interest" and plan to launch a series of "country-specific discussions to explore the influence of national culture on the safety culture".

Our Perspective

As usual, the press release touts all the benefits that are going to flow from the new relationship.  We predict the flow will be at best a trickle based on what we’ve seen from the principals over the years.  Following is our take on the two entities.

WANO is an association of the world's nuclear power operators.  Their objective is to exchange safety knowledge and operating experience among its members.  We have mentioned WANO in several Safetymatters posts, including Jan. 23, 2015, Jan. 7, 2015, Jan. 21, 2014 and May 1, 2010.  Their public contributions are generally shallow and insipid.  WANO may be effective at facilitating information sharing but it has no real authority over operators.  It is, however, an overhead cost for the economically uncompetitive commercial nuclear industry. 

NEA is an intergovernmental agency that facilitates cooperation among countries with nuclear technology infrastructures.  In our March 3, 2016 post we characterized NEA as an “empty suit” that produces cheerleading and blather.  We stand by that assessment.  In Safetymatters’ history, we have come across only one example of NEA adding value—when they published a document that encouraged regulators to take a systems view of SC.  See our Feb. 10, 2016 post for details.

No one should expect this new arrangement to lead to any breakthroughs in SC theory or insights into SC practice.  It will lead to meetings, conferences, workshops and boondoggles.  One hopes it doesn’t indirectly raise the industry’s costs or, more importantly, distract WANO from its core mission of sharing safety information and operating experience across the international nuclear industry. 


*  “WANO, NEA enhance cooperation in nuclear safety,” World Nuclear News (Oct. 4, 2017).