SEHN was founded in 1994 by a consortium of North American environmental organizations [including the Environmental Defense Fund, the Environmental Research Foundation, and OMB Watch] concerned about the misuse of science in ways that failed to protect the environment and human health. Granted 501[c][3] status in 1999, SEHN operates as a virtual organization, currently with six staff and nine board members working from locations across the U.S.

Since 1998, SEHN has become known as the leading proponent in the United States of the Precautionary Principle as a new basis for making decisions about environmental and public health policy. SEHN works with issue driven organizations, national environmental health coalitions, municipal and state governments, and several NGO/government teams to implement precautionary policies at local and state levels.

Mission

The Science and Environmental Health Network engages communities and governments in the effective application of science to protect and restore public and ecosystem health.

The Network:

Encourages the practice of science in the public interest and the accurate interpretation of scientific information;

Identifies information, ethical concepts, and logic that have the potential to provoke essential change; and

Helps communities, organizations, and governments develop and implement sound environmental policies.