Authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina will not withdraw their request that Croatia abandon the construction of a radioactive waste disposal site on Trgovska Gora in the municipality of Dvor, and the Croatian government’s decision not to dispose of waste from the Krško nuclear power plant there for at least another five years is considered to be only a temporary solution.
This was said on Friday by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Staša Košarac, who organized another meeting of the coordinating body for the disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel on Trgovska Gora.
The meeting followed after Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković confirmed during last week’s visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina that an agreement had been reached with Slovenia, according to which part of the waste from the nuclear power plant in Krško, which should be taken care of by Croatia, will continue to be disposed of there until at least 2028, which will leave enough time to resolve doubts related to plans for the construction of a landfill on Trgovska gora.
As announced after the meetings, Košarac and representatives of the entity governments assessed that the continuation of radioactive waste disposal in Krško in the next five years is an “encouraging signal”, but that BiH must continue the fight against the construction of a landfill in the former “Čerkezovac” barracks even after that.
It is planned to propose to the BiH Council of Ministers the engagement of an international legal consulting company from France with the aim of strengthening legal capacities in the fight against the construction of a landfill on Trgovska Gora.
“We have to be careful, because this is not Croatia’s final decision. That is why we are determined to continue with the maximum engagement of all competent institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina so that Croatia ultimately gives up its intention to dispose of disputed waste in our yard,” said Košarac.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, they believe that the landfill on Trgovska Gora, given its proximity to the interstate border, would pose a danger to the environment in both countries and that the soil there is unstable and porous, so there is a danger of the spread of radiation in the ground and watercourses.
Croatia previously invited Bosnia and Herzegovina to submit its objections and the arguments on which they are based, so that they too could be considered before the final decision, Hina reports.
