Founded in 1980, Environmental Health Watch brought together representatives from local health, environment and consumer advocacy organizations.  Members, working as volunteers, developed a number of activities to educate the public about emerging concerns related to hazardous waste, chemical pollution and chemical accidents as they impacted human health and the environment.

Convinced that its work was responding to an important and growing need, EHW was incorporated in 1985 as a not-for-profit corporation and was recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 tax-exempt public charity. Since 1985, EHW has been a funded organization with paid staff and offices in the May Dugan Multi-Service Center in Cleveland’s Near Westside neighborhood.  Funding has been from foundation and government grants, Community Shares, government contracts, contributions and program service fees.

Major Areas of Work
Over its twenty-year history, EHW has had several areas of sustained project work and significant public policy impact, notably in the areas of housing-related health hazards and chemical accident prevention.  Two types of project experience, in particular, have helped broaden our perspective and make our work more effective: 1) our experience as a lead abatement contractor and 2) conducting research projects.  EHW has also worked successfully with other organizations to develop, test and implement practical and effective model programs to protect human health and the environment.  In addition, we have worked in coalition with community, labor, public health and other environmental organizations to advocate for a sustainable community.

Healthy House Activities
There are a variety of housing-related health hazards that are of particular concern for low-income children living in substandard housing.  EHW’s work has focused particularly on lead poisoning and asthma.  Some major activities:

• Our pioneering Blueprint for a Healthy House Conferences, produced jointly with the Housing Resource Center annually from 1985 to 1990, were the first national meetings to bring together housing and health agencies and activists for an exchange on indoor pollution.  In 1990, we published the Healthy House Catalog, the first national directory of residential pollution resources.
• In partnership with the Cleveland Department of Public Health, EHW developed and operated the Cleveland Lead Hazard Abatement Center, a national model for addressing lead hazard control in low-income housing (1993-1995).  The Center trained and hired welfare clients to conduct lead hazard control work in the homes of low-income, lead-poisoned children.
• EHW conducted the evaluation of the HUD-funded Lead-Safe Housing Program of the Cleveland Department of Public Health (1996-1999). This complex research effort involved family interviews, environmental sampling and parent education in 170 housing units at four points in time and data management of over 10,000 forms.

Lead Abatement Contractor
For three years (1993-1995), EHW operated work crews that conducted lead hazard control work.  Functioning as a small environmental contractor, we faced many of the challenges and frustrations of working within environmental protection and worker safety regulations.  Having to deal with the practical implications of compliance with the various laws, afforded us a unique perspective among environmental groups.  We are no less adamant advocates for protection of human health and the environment, but we have a fuller appreciation of the resistance to these efforts and of legitimate objections to faulty regulation and poor regulatory administration.

Research Activities
EHW has engaged in a number of research projects in collaboration with academic researchers.  The experience of participating in the design and implementation of these projects has given us a grasp of concrete methodological issues in environmental and public health research.  This helps us to better interpret research findings and more realistically appreciate their limitations.  Research activities have included the following:

• Evaluation of interventions to reduce lead hazards, with the National Center for Lead-Safe Housing and the Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati;
• Lead contamination of Cleveland residential soils, with the Department of Geology, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Department of Chemistry, John Carroll University (JCU);
• Utilization of lead isotope ratios to “fingerprint” lead sources in residences, with Department of Geology, CWRU and the Department of Chemistry, JCU.

• The County Solid Waste District took over the household hazardous waste and oil recycling program that we had piloted.
• The Cleveland Department of Public Health incorporated into its Lead Program the lead hazard control capacity developed through our joint Lead Hazard Abatement Center.
• The Local Emergency Planning Committee adopted the Chemical Accident Prevention Program developed by EHW in cooperation with the Environmental Careers Organization.

Advocacy
Our environmental advocacy work is generally done in coalition with other organizations.  These activities include direct and grassroots lobbying (within the IRS spending limits for exempt organizations), press events, letters to the editor, testimony and picket lines.  The issues include air pollution, nuclear waste transportation, urban sprawl, lead poisoning, chemical accident prevention and pesticide use.

[TOP]