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.
Historic Coal Ash Cleanup in PA
Four environmental groups today announced an historic agreement to reduce toxic pollutants leaking from a power plant’s coal ash dumps into groundwater and the Susquehanna River, the largest Chesapeake Bay [...]
Lead Filters In NJ Failed as Was the Case in Flint, MI
Residents in Flint, MI said over and over that the filters were not reliable to keep lead out of their tap water. EPA the state and some scientists said that [...]
Pipeline Explosion in Lincoln County, Kentucky, Kills 1 and Injures 5
Last Thursday, there was a major explosion as part of the Texas Eastern Transmission gas pipeline ruptured, sending flames 300 feet into the air. The explosion killed one, hospitalized five, [...]
Reflecting on Community Action, Time Wasters, and Thinking Outside the Box
by Kenia French, CHEJ Communications Intern As a college student studying environmental science, I find myself [...]
Sacrifice Zones Illuminate Need for More Comprehensive Public Health Protection
by Summer-Solstice Thomas, CHEJ Science & Tech Intern On Wednesday July 31st, 2019, the morning air [...]
Get the Lead Out of Schools!
No level of lead is exposure is safe for children. We need to protect our children from lead that can cause learning delays, especially in their schools. The EPA just announced a new grants program to test for lead in their water and provides action grants to fix any contamination.
- Under EPA’s new Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program, EPA will award $43.7 million in grants to fund testing for lead in drinking water at schools and child care programs. Testing results carried out using grant funds must be made publicly available.
Protect our children—contact your local elected representatives and ask them to apply today.
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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.
