A fundamental issue is to establish a raw waste inventory list with information on various characteristics, including chemical and physical form and radionuclide inventory (Table 28.1). This is the first step for pursuing further examination of treatment and disposal of these wastes. However, it is very difficult to establish a

complete list from the beginning because the volume of waste and variety of waste types is large and certain radionuclides contained in the wastes are difficult to identify and measure. Therefore, stepwise development and evaluation are impor­tant. A management system of the waste inventory should be established, and new waste information obtained by several intensive waste characterization projects should be added to the management system, where the information will be shared among concerned organizations.

The management system should include information about treatment method and source term characteristics, including waste form, volume, surface dose rate, ID number, and location of waste package, which are collected when raw wastes are treated. This system should be maintained and used until final disposal of the wastes. When all wastes are disposed of in a designated disposal facility, the inventory list will be used as the waste records of the disposal facility.