NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - The Savannah River Site wants to ship 8,800 drums of waste to New Mexico for permanent storage, but it is awaiting a permit from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

At issue are things such as tools, clothes, rags and debris contaminated with small amounts of man-made radioactive elements, known as transuranic waste.

There are 11,000 cubic yards of transuranic waste stored at the 310-square mile old nuclear weapons complex near Aiken, said Sonny Goldston, a senior technical adviser.

The waste has been stored in 55-gallon metal drums since the 1970s. It was buried under dirt in the 1980s awaiting the opening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

In order to move the waste from SRS to New Mexico, DHEC must approve a permit to store and classify the waste at the transuranic waste storage pads, Goldston said.

Operating under an interim permit, SRS is scheduled to ship all of its transuranic waste to New Mexico by 2014, Goldston said. That's accelerated from the original 2034 schedule, he said.

The DHEC permit will be filed by Sept. 30.

Information from: Aiken Standard