Trgovska Gora is a hilly-mountainous area on the border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, which has come into the public spotlight due to Croatia’s plans to establish longterm storage facilities for radioactive waste from the Krško nuclear power plant at the Čerkezovac site. This has caused concern among residents over possible adverse effects on human health and the environment, given that the location is only a few kilometers from the River Una and populated areas in BiH.
The issue of Trgovska Gora dates back to 1999, when the Croatian Parliament adopted a decision designating the BiH-Croatia border area as the location for disposing of radioactive waste. Although Croatia initially had four potential sites available in 1997 – Psunj, Papuk, Moslavačka Gora, and Trgovska Gora – the BiH border site was the only one retained.
The Green Team Association has been engaged with the Trgovska Gora case since its founding in 2016, stating that Trgovska Gora is less suitable than the sites that were excluded, a conclusion confirmed by ten PhD experts from BiH.
– Within this case, there are a significant number of complicated segments, but the essence is really quite simple. Two EU member states benefited from the operation of the Krško nuclear power plant, and Croatia intends to push its share of the burden, in the form of radioactive waste, into the border area between Croatia and BiH. It is not neighborly, it is not in line with good practices, it is not fair, and it is not in line with the principles of sustainable development. However, BiH does not possess the same level of leverage as other countries, nor does it have sufficient international influence to resolve this issue at the negotiating table. For that reason, the struggle has lasted now for more than 25 years, with no clear end in sight, says Mario Crnković, president of the Green Team Association.
What Is Actually Planned
Crnković explains that Croatia intends to form practically two units at Trgovska Gora, referred to publicly as the so-called Radioactive Waste Management Center.
– The first thing they want, which is hardly ever discussed, is the establishment of a central storage site for institutional radioactive waste (IRAW) from Croatia. This would host an entire spectrum of hazardous waste from Croatia, ranging from that generated in science, research, industry, the military, and medicine. In addition, they intend to build a nuclear facility for the long-term storage of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from Slovenia, says Crnković.
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Distance from the Una River
The entrance to the Čerkezovac barracks complex is located about 800 meters from the River Una, while the storage facilities are just over two kilometers away. The site was chosen so that the storage facilities are actually closer to the center of Novi Grad in BiH than to Dvor, a municipality in Croatia with about 2,000 inhabitants.
– When you draw a circle around that site, it is evident at first glance that most of the territory falls within BiH. Adding to that the slope of the terrain, groundwater, and prevailing winds, we conclude that this is a clear example of risk transfer to a neighboring country. For this reason, some ecologists have studied the extent to which this could be described as environmental racism, since the overlaps with the theory that explains this phenomenon are more than concerning, says Crnković.
He points out that Trgovska Gora is the primary reason young people are leaving Novi Grad, followed closely by economic and career-related reasons.
There is also the example of the protected area of Una Nature Park, whose development should be based on one of the most beautiful rivers in Europe, but which is now burdened by announcements of possible radioactive and other hazardous waste disposal.
– When it comes to environmental protection, it is difficult even to talk about it, because it falls into the background given the scale of the problem. When someone intends to build a nuclear facility in an area where there is strong opposition, where there is a very serious history of different conflicts, every time we mention that 39 fish species are being endangered, we get asked whether we have counted how many children will be at risk. What we need is harmony between humans and nature, cooperation and sustainable development, and yet someone else’s burden is being imposed, one that our children are left to suffer, emphasizes Crnković.
The Green Team Association is now conducting activities in three directions. The first is supporting the activities of the Expert Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while also highlighting the importance of cooperation between institutions and civil society organizations when it comes to issues important to citizens. The second is monitoring the case and acting as a corrective factor.
– The Trgovska Gora case has a significant number of complexities, and given that Croatia is hiding relevant information, it is not rare that information reaches citizens before it reaches institutions in BiH. That is not good, but it is reality, that is the Balkans. That is the attitude of an EU member state toward a country aspiring to become one, says Crnković.
The third direction is preparing and creating materials and activities related to the case, since, as he puts it, “we do not have the luxury of waiting for institutions to act and then basing our comments on whether what they did was good or not.”
Given that Croatia has already begun construction work on Trgovska Gora, and that for 25 years they have in no way included the citizens of BiH, preparations are underway to appeal to committees for the implementation of various conventions.
Prepared by Jasna Dragojević
The story was published in Energy portal Magazine CLIMATE CHANGE
