The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a semi-autonomous offshoot of the World Health Organization, is expected to appoint its new director on May 17th for a five-year term. The new appointee will take over a number of challenges from outgoing director, Chris Wild, who has led the agency through a difficult period that has seen the organization backtrack on several of its assessments, and dragged before a U.S. Congressional committee to answer for its “shoddy work” on others.
With Congress threatening to pull funding due to a “record of controversy, retractions, and inconsistencies,” the agency’s credibility is standing in the balance. What is particularly troubling, however, is that the IARC’s assessments continues to be highly influential, with real and often significant consequences for both businesses and policymakers.
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