The Center for Health, Environment and Justice has been on the front line in the fight for environmental health for 38 years. We train and support local activists across the country and build local, state and national initiatives that win on issues from Superfund to climate change.
We Can Help You Win
CHEJ has the tools to help residents fight against toxic threats in their community. We can provide scientific information to make your case, leadership training to build your organization and organize your community, and ongoing coaching throughout the process.
Whether you are starting a new initiative from scratch with volunteers or have been working together for years, CHEJ is there for you. Contact us to find out more.
Love Canal
Our story began in Love Canal, NY, where Lois Gibbs led her neighbors to be protected from 20,000 tons of hazardous waste buried in their backyards. Love Canal was national news and the catalyst for the federal Superfund program.
Armed with lessons about the power of organizing, education and the bold voice of local residents defending their families, Lois launched CHEJ in 1981. We’ve been fighting for a healthier environment ever since.
A Network For Change
Our nationwide network of more than 300 local community groups works locally and at the regional, state and national levels to achieve critical policy impacts around issues like fracking, release of toxic chemicals, climate change, industral waste and more.
The communities we serve are largely rural, low-wealth or working class—the places that typically bear the brunt of environmental degradation. Together, we make a difference.
Butte, MT Babies Have Heavy Metals 1,000 times Higher Than SC Babies
Last year, a team of independent researchers collected samples of baby poop from 32 infants born in Butte and Columbia, South Carolina and tested them for heavy metals. The results [...]
Report on the health and safety of children
The Union of Concerned Scientist has released a report and storybook on the impact of current regulation rollbacks on the health and safety of children. A decrease in science-based research within the [...]
Philadelphia placing a ban on hydrofluoric acid
Proposed legislation this week at the Philadelphia City Council intends to ban the use and production of hydrofluoric acid (HF). The city is in favor of the ban after the [...]
What is Under the Surface?
By Liz Goodiel Across the country, there has been a growing awareness for communities affected by [...]
PFAS & Superfund NOT a Compatible Marriage
The federal house of representatives passed a bill that would designate certain types of PFAS “hazardous” [...]
Interpreting Testing Results; The Basis for No Cause for Alarm
Not too long ago, a local leader in a community in Nevada asked if I could [...]
Make Polluters, Not Taxpayers, Pay for Toxic Cleanups!
We at CHEJ, urge you to contact your representative to support the Polluter Pays Fees as introduced by Congressman Blumenauer’s Bill Superfund Reinvestment Act (H.R. 4088).
Superfund’s resources have dwindled to the lowest level in the history of the program under the Trump Administration. Today, thousands of innocent families are paying to cleanup industry’s toxic mess through their children’s health and their federal taxes. Americans’ tax dollars should support schools, infrastructure, health care and housing not cleaning up corporate pollution.
The Superfund Reinvestment Act holds industries accountable for cleaning up the harmful results of their irresponsible practices.
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Watch Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old climate activist from Sweden who’s made headlines this year with her “School Strike for Climate”, deliver a speech on what we must do to save the climate at this year’s Brilliant Minds Conference in Sweden.
