Croatian PM: Radioactive Refuse Storage Site Won’t Harm Bosnia

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic assured neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina at a joint government session in Zagreb on Tuesday that the storage of radioactive items at a facility two kilometres from the Bosnian border poses no danger.

Plenkovic told media after the meeting that spent nuclear fuel will not be stored at the site in the Trgovska Gora area, only items from a nuclear plant co-owned by Croatia like used equipment and protective clothing with low and medium levels of radiation.

"There has not been any incident anywhere in countries that have similar storage units. The storage units would be seismically resistant and water contamination would not be possible," he said.

"If someone stood in front of that storage unit's wall for 365 days, he would not receive any radiation. It would be less than the amount of radiation a passenger receives during an airplane flight," he added.

Croatia jointly owns the Krsko nuclear power plant in Slovenia and has an obligation to participate in the depositing of radioactive material. It is planning to use a former Yugoslav army warehouse in Cerkezovac on Trgovska Gora that will be specially adapted for the purpose.

Borjana Kristo, the chairperson of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Council of Ministers, said that the fact that the issue was raised at the joint governmental meeting "showed that we are ready to cooperate".

"Expert teams are working on this issue and cooperation on this and all other issues will continue," Kristo said.

The joint governmental meeting also focused on cooperation over transport infrastructure.

"As important topics, I would highlight the agreement on the reconstruction of the Brcko-Gunja bridge and new bridges over the Sava River, as well as...