Croatia approves creation of radioactive waste repository

Croatia's parliament has approved the creation of a radioactive waste disposal facility at a site less than a kilometer from Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite long-standing protests from the neighboring country, which claims the project threatens a quarter of a million people, reports... Euronews.

The law provides the regulatory basis for the construction of a facility in Čerkezovac in the Čargovská Gora forest for the storage of waste from the Krško nuclear power plant, which Croatia co-owns with Slovenia, as well as radioactive waste from Croatian hospitals and industry.

Under a bilateral agreement with Slovenia, Croatia is to take responsibility for disposing of half of the low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste generated by Krško. The facility has been operating since the early 80s, when both countries were part of socialist Yugoslavia.

The facility on the site of former army barracks near the border with Bosnia is designed to temporarily store this waste for 40 years before its final disposal.

The law establishes spatial planning requirements and conditions for the project's implementation, the Croatian parliament said in a decision. Croatia must now conduct an environmental impact assessment before construction can begin.

Consequences of radioactive waste

Bosnia has opposed the project for years, claiming that the site just across the border poses a risk to some 250,000 people living in the Una River basin.

"When you consider that the Cerkezovac barracks is less than 1 kilometer as the crow flies from the wells that supply Novi Grad with water, less than 2 kilometers from our high schools and less than 3 kilometers from the city center, then it is clear what danger we are in," the municipal president of the Bosnian town of Novi Grad, Miroslav Drljaca, told the local press in 2018.

Drlyacha has repeatedly stated that his municipality is considering legal action on the matter.

Local communities in Bosnia sent a letter to Croatian lawmakers last week warning that the law would allow Croatia to circumvent international environmental obligations.

Bosnian authorities argue that the legislation contradicts the Espoo Convention and other international agreements requiring consultations with affected neighboring countries.

Meanwhile, Croatian authorities have defended their choice of a radioactive waste landfill as safe and the only viable alternative.

"If someone stands 365 days, 24 hours a day in front of the wall of this facility, they will not receive any radiation. It would be significantly less than any radiation during a flight from Europe to the United States," Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in June 2023.

Cerkezovac has been designated as a potential radioactive waste site in Croatia's spatial plans since 1999. Croatian authorities say the 60-hectare former military complex, located in an uninhabited area 5 kilometers from the nearest town, offers existing infrastructure suitable for the facility.

Environmental groups in both countries have protested the plans, with activists warning that the site's proximity to the Una River and seismic activity in the region pose environmental risks.

Residents of Novi Grad and neighboring municipalities have previously expressed concerns that Croatia is already using the facility to store nuclear waste, claiming a spike in malignant diseases as evidence. Authorities have dismissed these claims.

The river, which flows mainly through Bosnia and flows into the Danube, is part of the country's largest national park and is considered one of the cleanest and most picturesque rivers in the Balkans.

Croatia plans to start accepting waste from Slovenia in early 2028. The country currently stores small amounts of radioactive waste from medical, industrial and research activities at scattered locations.