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Independent health agencies have often been accused of technicizing and depoliticizing scientific controversies. Does the fact that these agencies increasingly rely on social sciences contribute to a depoliticization of expertise relative to health issues? Or does it reveal its underlying political dimension? An empirical study of expertise carried out by Anses suggests that the inclusion of social sciences in risk evaluation reinforces its political dimension: through a contribution to the emergence of new issues, the explicitation of diverging interests and values, or by renewing expert procedures. The study also highlights the strategies adopted by social scientists to legitimate their role as experts.