The waste volumes are so large – estimated to be 30 million cubic meters (enough to fill the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome more than 20 times) – and the material so complex that the final steps of management need to be carefully optimized, even if the main contaminant is relatively short-lived radiocesium. With mountains of waste sitting in bags in simple stores that will inevitably degrade, planning and developing centralized disposal facilities has become a critical issue.