Government undermines SAGE advice
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Nov 17, 2009, 8:37:06 AM11/17/09
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Eventually, after 2.5 years delay, on 16th October 2009, the UK
Department of Health finally issued a response to the first interim
assessment of the Stakeholder Advisory Group on extremely low frequency
electromagnetic fields (ELF EMFs). We have been thinking about how best
to respond, hence the delay in the timing of this news report. When the
original assessment was released back in April 2007, we covered it in
some detail, reporting its content and the progress it made on assessing
various areas of the science. However, half a year later the UK Health
Protection Agency published a rather surprising response to the health
minister, with a one-sided and scientifically unsupportable position
that made a mockery of some of the discussions that had taken place in
the stakeholder group work that SAGE had laboured over for two years.
This was particularly disappointing when the HPA were already a
stakeholder within the SAGE group, and had made their position statement
clear enough already within the text of the assessment. Adding a second
"bite of the cherry" was unnecessary, when they could have explained
that their view was already held within the assessment along with the
collaborative work of the stakeholder group. The detailed further
response to the health minister meant that she could take what was
effectively just one view within the process, which undermines the whole
purpose of SAGE.
Department of Health finally issued a response to the first interim
assessment of the Stakeholder Advisory Group on extremely low frequency
electromagnetic fields (ELF EMFs). We have been thinking about how best
to respond, hence the delay in the timing of this news report. When the
original assessment was released back in April 2007, we covered it in
some detail, reporting its content and the progress it made on assessing
various areas of the science. However, half a year later the UK Health
Protection Agency published a rather surprising response to the health
minister, with a one-sided and scientifically unsupportable position
that made a mockery of some of the discussions that had taken place in
the stakeholder group work that SAGE had laboured over for two years.
This was particularly disappointing when the HPA were already a
stakeholder within the SAGE group, and had made their position statement
clear enough already within the text of the assessment. Adding a second
"bite of the cherry" was unnecessary, when they could have explained
that their view was already held within the assessment along with the
collaborative work of the stakeholder group. The detailed further
response to the health minister meant that she could take what was
effectively just one view within the process, which undermines the whole
purpose of SAGE.
/Click here
<http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/news/20091117_sage_response.asp> for the
full news story
/
Powerwatch Breaking News: 17/11/2009
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