Engaging with risks : citizens, science and policy in mobile phone mast siting controversies

In the past, Dutch and Flemish citizens have protested the placement of mobile phone masts. The debate often centred on whether people can get sick from the radiation these masts emit. Following extensive research in six municipalities, Marijke Hermans suggests that focusing on health risks may mask other important concerns, such as lack of involvement and visual pollution. The focus on health may have placed the issue too firmly in the realm of science, with polarisation as a result. Science itself is becoming part of the public arena, but citizens are falling to the wayside. They are not fundamentally against the placement of phone masts, they simply want more input. They also want scientific uncertainties to be taken into account, instead of being swept under the carpet.