Characterize

[Rennhack]

To describe the characteristics of something, such as a waste or a waste site.  For example, characterizing a waste from mining or processing a naturally occurring radioactive material typically includes finding the following types of information:

Chemical and radionuclide content
Level of radiation
Physical description (is it liquid or solid; in big chunks or a fine powder, etc.)
Amount
pH (is it an acid or a base)