Experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina with an Interregional Approach of Improving the Cradle-to-Grave Control of Sealed Radioactive Sources

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BOH) is a non-nuclear country located in Southeastern Europe with a population of approximately 3.8 million people and an area of approximately 50.000 km2. However, BOH does have radioactive materials (sealed and unsealed) that are used in medical, industry and research activities, and has a number of issues to be solved since sealed radioactive sources (SRS) of all 5 Categories are present and in use in the country. BOH has participated in the Strengthening Cradle-to-Grave Control of Radioactive Sources in the Mediterranean Region, INT9176 project since its inception in 2012, and has participated in many events under this project, including capacity building for regulatory authorities in the region, development and implementation of policies and strategies for managing disused SRS and radioactive waste, and the December2013 regional “Workshop on Regulatory Control for the Safe Management of DSRS”. One of the main benefits that BOH has realized under the INT9176 project relate to the legal and regulatory framework for the management of SRS in use and disused. As a Contracting Party to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, BOH is in the process of ensuring coherence between laws, policies, strategies and regulations. One of the recent activities in this area relate to the national Policy on the Safety of Ionizing Radiation Sources in BOH, which had been drafted in early 2012, but which was reviewed and revised under the project to address management of radioactive waste and DSRS. The National Strategy of Radioactive waste management was also developed and reviewed during the project, and was approved by the BOH Council of Ministers in December2013. The current national regulatory framework for authorization of possession and use of SRS is also being reviewed, in order to adopt the latest international standards. Activities undertaken under the INT9176 project support the full establishment of national regulatory infrastructure for SRS management in BOH and consequently contribute to strengthening the control of SRS both in use and when they become disused. The next phase should be the implementation of regulatory requirements and collection in one location all DSRS currently located throughout the country.