In 1998, the UK Government promised a 'progressive and substantial' reduction of radioactive discharges from the Sellafield spent fuel reprocessing plant into the Irish Sea.
At the time of the decision, the UK's Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, famously declared "I was ashamed of Britain's record in the past but now we have shed the tag of the Dirty Man of Europe and have joined the family of nations".
Yet discharges from Sellafield are higher now than in 1998 and are set to double over the next few years (Find out more in Greenpeace's briefing paper on OSPAR and radioactive discharges from Sellafield).
