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.
Battered, Flooded and Submerged: Many Superfund Sites are Dangerously Threatened by Climate Change
Fred Barrett thought he’d wait out Hurricane Harvey at his home in this town outside Houston, founded by his great-grandfather in 1889. He prepared for heavy rain, wind and flooding. [...]
California Gov. signs order banning sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday to end the sale of gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035. The order aims to phase out cars with internal [...]
Climate change poses a growing threat to hundreds of hazardous waste Superfund sites
Hurricanes, floods and wildfires imperil hundreds of hazardous waste sites. But the Trump administration won't talk about the rising risks. Read more... Photo credit: Spike Johnson
Incarcerated Workers Among Hardest Hit By Wildfires
By: Shaina Smith, Community Organizing Intern Massive wildfires fuelled by climate change have damaged millions of [...]
Please Stop Screaming – Let’s Listen To One Another
Recently, I’ve been discussing presidential politics, as all of us have. Even if you try to [...]
The Life of an Intern at CHEJ
By Sophie Weinberg, CHEJ Science Intern, Summer 2020. This summer was unusual to say the least. [...]
No More Sacrifice Zones!
“No More Sacrifice Zones!” is our campaign to organize people who are poisoned by corporate greed and at high risk for Covid-19 complications to lead a national effort that ends the sacrificing of their families, and our planet.
Every day, people in America become exposed to a toxic mixture of chemicals in the air we breathe. They are released in unknown quantities by energy plants, dirty factories and CO2-emitting vehicles.
These foul chemicals are not found equally everywhere in our country’s air: They are highly concentrated in areas where people have lower incomes and are part of racial minority groups.
These have become known as America’s “Sacrifice Zones.”
We are uniting people suffering from cancer, moms whose kids are born with physical impairments, and residents who simply can’t afford to live anywhere else to share their stories, name the solutions they need and build the power necessary to enact change.
Will you join us?
