June 26, 2023 – The construction of the Centre for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste is planned to begin in 2025. The location: former Čerkezovac barracks on Trgovska Gora in the municipality of Dvor. The start of operation of the centre is scheduled for 2026, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development told Hina.
“Previous investigative work and research at the location do not indicate a possible negative solution in the environmental impact study. However, as a final confirmation of the suitability of the Čerkezovac location for the Centre for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, we will wait for the analysis and interpretation of the research carried out as part of the study, the results of which will be publicly available “, the Ministry says, as reported by Index.
The study, they point out, will prescribe environmental protection measures to prevent negative impact during the operation of the radioactive waste storage facility. The development of safety analyses and conceptual design to obtain a location permit is underway. A request has also been submitted to the ministry to determine the content of the environmental impact study.
Start of Construction of Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in 2025
In March, a public procedure was carried out to determine the content of the environmental impact study. It includes the collection of opinions and comments from the public and competent authorities in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Ministry is currently analyzing the opinions. They plan to start construction of the centre in 2025, while the planned start of its operation is scheduled for 2026.
Investigative works and determining the zero state of radioactivity in the environment were completed at the location. A measuring station was set up as a part of it to measure the ambient dose rate. Seismological stations were installed at the site of the centre and Rujevac and Pobrđani. They are included in the Croatian network of seismographs and accelerographs of the Croatian Seismological Service.
Real-time data transmission to the Seismological Service in Zagreb and the State Hydrometeorological Service in Banja Luka is also ensured.
However, the Ministry warns that “after the meetings with the BiH side, there is not the slightest willingness to prove that the project will not have an impact on the environment. This is regardless of the fact that all expert arguments, as well as the preliminary results of the investigative works, indicate that there is no cross-border impact during regular operation of the facility”.
Plenković: Croatia to Decide autonomously
On June 20, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced at a joint session of the Croatian government and the BiH Council of Ministers that Croatia would apply the highest safety standards in constructing radioactive waste disposal facilities. The location of the disposal site is in a “hilly, uninhabited area where low and medium radioactive waste from the Krško NPP would be stored,” Plenković said.
He asserted that it is waste “that radiates very little,” such as protective clothing, gloves, rags, etc. Used nuclear fuel, which is highly radioactive waste, will not be stored. “If someone were to stand 365 days, 24 hours in front of the wall of that landfill, they would not receive any radiation. It would be significantly less than radiation on a flight from Europe to America,” Plenković said.
When asked about choosing the location of the landfill and the proximity to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Prime Minister pointed out that Croatia decides autonomously. However, BiH Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Staša Košarac from the SNSD announced that he will seek EU support to find a new landfill location.
Local Population Unhappy
Košarac believes that the location of the landfill is unacceptable because it will endanger the health of the nearby population. He called for a third location to be found. Apparently, the BiH expert team “is not satisfied with the flow of information from the Croatian side”. He added that Slovenia and Hungary support Bosnia and Herzegovina’s efforts.
Košarac also requested a meeting with the EU’s high representative for foreign and security policy, Josep Borrell. This will be a chance to express his opposition to Croatia’s intention of building a radioactive waste disposal site right on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
And the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik accused Plenković of trying to justify the construction of a radioactive waste disposal site on Trgovska Gora with untrue claims. He said that future relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia would depend on the resolution of this issue.
The head of the Dvor municipality, Nikola Arbutina, told Hina that everyone in his municipality is against the disposal of radioactive waste in Dvor. “The Municipal Council twice stated it was against it, the citizens said they were against it, and I, as the mayor, am against it,” said Arbutina.
Who Will Buy Property or Land Near a Radioactive Waste Disposal Site?
He adds that every citizen in Dvor, Croatia, and the world has the same attitude regarding radioactive waste disposal. Moreover, he believes the waste should be disposed of at the place of origin, at the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Krško. Arbutina points out that the development strategy of the Municipality of Dvor includes small and medium entrepreneurship, ecological agriculture, and tourism. So why not use their potential for ecological products, which are more expensive than the conventional ones.
Although they promise them rent, Arbutina asks who will pay for the fact that their area has been only considered a place where radioactive waste will be disposed of for eight years. “Who will buy a cottage next to Una? Who will buy land or an ecological product,” stated the head of the Dvor indignantly.
Meanwhile, in the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, they do not let up but continue their activities to convince all that the centre will be harmless to the local population and the environment.
A Series of PReventive Programs
Last year, an info centre was opened in Dvor and another in the Technical Museum in Zagreb. Furthermore, several tenders were held for non-governmental organizations operating in the Dvor area. There are monthly publications about all the news related to the establishment of the center. Finally, the creation of an agro-ecological study for the Dvor area has also been completed.
In cooperation with the Institute for Public Health of the Sisak-Moslavina County, a number of preventive programs for the residents of Dvor are being implemented, the Ministry says. They also announced the imminent adoption of the Regulation on compensation to the local community.
“All these activities are part of the efforts of the Fund for financing the decommissioning and disposal of radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel of the Krško NPP to increase the acceptability of the project for the local community. We believe that the coming adoption of the Regulation on compensation to the local community will be a step in the right direction,” the Ministry points out.
