The Center for Health, Environment and Justice has been on the front line in the fight for environmental health for 40 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.
Portsmouth’s Haven well to supply water again, 7 years after PFAS contamination found
PORTSMOUTH – City officials have announced plans to bring the Haven well back online this week, seven years after it was shut down because of the presence of toxic PFAS chemicals [...]
Here’s what’s in the bipartisan infrastructure bill
(CNN)A bipartisan group of senators unveiled the legislative text of the infrastructure bill on Sunday night after months of negotiations. In total, the deal includes $550 billion in new federal investments in [...]
The Oil and Gas Industry Produces Radioactive Waste. Lots of It
Massive amounts of radioactive waste brought to the surface by oil and gas wells have overwhelmed the industry and the state and federal agencies that regulate it, according to a report [...]
Hazy Skies and Corporate Ties: We Must Put People Over Profits
On Monday afternoon between Zoom meetings, I set out for a walk around my Boston neighborhood [...]
Polluting Industries Profits Vs. Risks To Public Health
By: Tony Aguilar, Community Organizing Intern Time and time again, it seems as though legislation always [...]
“Green Energy,” Misleading Labels, and Loopholes
By: Julia Weil, Organizing Intern While switching to green energy is typically beneficial for human health, [...]
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?
