LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Trucks carrying low-level radioactive waste from 38 states will likely begin traveling Texas highways as early as April.

They'll be bound for a dump site near the New Mexico border.

A Texas commission overseeing the disposal is expected Friday to approve the final rule changes needed.

The waste's burial will end a years-long effort by Waste Control Specialists to win permission from Texas officials to accept the waste at a 1,340-acre tract.

The company's majority owner is big-time political contributor Harold Simmons. Opponents say his Dallas-based company has benefited from connections to top Republicans. They include Gov. Rick Perry, who makes appointments to the state's environmental commission that regulates the site.

Trucking the waste is a concern to opponents. But a company spokesman says highway accidents are infrequent.

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