Bosnia asks Croatia to refrain from dumping radioactive waste near shared border

Trgovska Gora is located just north from the border, near the Bosnian town of Novi Grad. Croatia adopted strategic documents end of last year which name that area as a potential location for dumping nuclear waste.

This information caused concern among residents of Novi Grad, who told N1 in November last year the decision was “scandalous.”

The Minister of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology in Bosnia’s Serb-majority region of Republika Srpska (RS), Srebrenka Golic, said in early March that she sent Croatia requests for clarification regarding the issue, but that those were ignored.

She also said that if Croatia dumps its nuclear waste near Bosnia’s border, it would be fair if Bosnia would respond by dumping its nuclear waste at its southern border to Croatia, near the city of Dubrovnik.

She called upon Croatia to “respect international norms” and accused Bosnia’s government of ignoring the issue.

According to the Friday news release, the Chairman of the Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, is to send a letter to Croatia’s Prime Minister containing the request.

It also said that Bosnia’s Internal Affairs Ministry was tasked with “informing European Union member countries and organisations dealing with environmental protection issues” about the request via “diplomatic-consular representation offices of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Bosnia will insist on protecting its rights under international law and within its competencies regarding this issue, the Presidency statement said.