A significant proportion of the monitoring programme relates to samples taken around nuclear sites. The strategy behind the sampling and measurement programme has the following objectives:the monitoring of radioactive isotopes which are significant in terms of the discharges authorised under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 from individual sites;the monitoring of radioactive isotopes which indicate plant performance at individual sites; and the monitoring of environmental media and foodstuffs which may represent a significant pathway to man.A further purpose of the monitoring programme is to act as an additional check for compliance with conditions in authorisations for the discharge of waste and to provide a baseline dataset from which to judge the importance of accidental releases of radioactivity, should they occur.The sample locations, frequency of measurements and the radioactive isotopes monitored are published annually by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and SEPA in the 'Radioactivity in Food and the Environment' (RIFE) report.