Beginning next July 1, Iowa may be the first state in the nation to charge shippers a fee for transporting nuclear waste on state highways. If the state rule is imposed, it would cost between $50 and $1,750 to ship radioactive waste between Iowa borders.

The Legislative Administrative Rules Committee met Dec. 11 to review the proposed rule. The panel must review state rules before they go into effect, The Des Moines Register reported.There is an estimated 4,000 shipments of radioactive waste moved across Iowa each year. The fees would apply to both high-level and low-level waste. Spent fuel rods are one example of high-level waste, contaminated soil would be considered low-level waste. Transporting fees would have to be paid by the shipper or individual who owns the waste, rather than by truckers or railroaders who transport it.