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.
President Trump Rolls Back Pollution Regulations on Streams and Wetlands
On Thursday, January 23rd, the Trump Administration finalized the removal of the "Waters of the United States" regulations set in place during the Obama Administration. The removal of the 2015 [...]
Students relocated after Mercury testing on school grounds
Northport Middle School, in Long Island, NY, has taken action to relocate its students after findings of high levels of Mercury on school grounds. Parents staged a "sick out" rally [...]
Malaysia: Don’t Dump Your Trash Here
Malaysia has announced that it will no longer be accepting containers of trash from wealthier countries, including France, the United Kingdom and the United States. At a press conference on [...]
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 [...]
No One Should Have to Breathe These Chemicals
Opinion NYT In Texas and across the country, the E.P.A.’s gutting of the Chemical Disaster Rule [...]
No Funds to Clean Up 34 Toxic Superfund Sites
By Sharon Franklin On January 2, 2020, Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Brow and Ed White of the [...]
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.
