Asking the Questions That Matter
Many of the technologies, products, and environmental changes that improve our daily lives can also raise important questions about their long-term effects on human health. Environment & Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) was founded to ask those questions before they became tomorrow's public health challenges.
Throughout its history, EHHI has explored emerging environmental health issues before they entered the national conversation. Our work examines the potential health impacts of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the products we use, and the places where we live, learn, work, and play.
"We were seeing local problems that were not being addressed... and then we decided to do some research on it."
~ Dr. David O. Brown, Founding EHHI Board Member
Our Founding
EHHI was founded on a simple belief: scientific progress and innovation should improve our quality of life without compromising our health. When new technologies, chemicals, or environmental exposures emerge, EHHI asks the questions that matter, even when the answers are uncertain or the topics are unpopular.
By bringing together leading physicians, scientists, and public health experts, EHHI identifies potential health risks, advances independent research, and translates scientific findings into practical solutions that protect current and future generations.
By identifying important questions early and supporting rigorous scientific research, EHHI has helped shape public understanding, inform policymakers, and advance practical solutions that protect public health.
Our founder, Nancy Alderman, had an unwavering commitment to independent science, public education, and evidence-based policy. Her vision continues to guide our work today. Learn more about Nancy on our Board & Staff page.
As Myles Alderman Sr., Nancy’s husband, observed, EHHI's work often uses the model of states being a laboratory for policy development that is then exported far beyond the original borders and even internationally:
"We need to start somewhere. Policy in Connecticut became the model that could be exported to other states and countries."
As Nancy Alderman's son, Myles Alderman Jr., reflected on his mother’s legacy and the reason behind the creation of EHHI:
"She took on things nobody else would."
That spirit continues today. As EHHI explores emerging human health challenges from environmental exposures, we continue to ask:
"What are the new technologies, and are there environmental and human health impacts?"
~ Dr. Bryant Jones, Executive Director
Current Health Topics
The Health Topics below highlight the major areas of research that have defined EHHI's work and continue to guide its mission of protecting human health through science, education, and public policy. Evidence alone rarely changes policy. It must be translated, repeated, defended, and connected to the experiences of people whose health is at risk.
Mother, Infant, & Child Health
"Children are not simply small adults."
A principle reflected throughout EHHI's research on environmental exposures to human health.
Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental exposures because their brains, organs, and immune systems are still developing. EHHI has studied the environmental factors that influence health before birth and throughout childhood, including pesticides, diesel exhaust, drinking water contaminants, synthetic turf, plastics, school environments, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Our research has helped advance healthier policies and practical solutions that reduce children's exposure to preventable environmental hazards.
"Most laws and regulations around the world don't consider fetal exposures and fetal vulnerability."
Dr. John Wargo, EHHI Board Member
Toxic Substances
“People are exposed to mixtures of chemicals every day, yet most chemicals are tested and regulated one at a time.”
From an EHHI chemical substances study.
From pesticides and PFAS to flame retardants, formaldehyde, heavy metals, and consumer products, EHHI has investigated chemicals that people encounter in everyday life. Its reports help explain where these substances are found, what science tells us about their health effects, and practical steps individuals, communities, and policymakers can take to reduce unnecessary exposures.
"We need not just to produce new knowledge, but to have an impact."
Dr. John Wargo, EHHI Board Member
Indoor & Outdoor Air Quality
"The air inside a school bus contains higher concentrations of diesel pollutants than the surrounding outdoor air."
From an EHHI study.
From diesel school buses to wood smoke, power plant emissions, asthma, and indoor air pollution, EHHI has investigated how the air we breathe affects human health. Our research has helped communities better understand the relationship between air pollution and respiratory disease while contributing to practical solutions, including school bus anti-idling policies that were later adopted across numerous states (e.g., West Virginia, Utah, South Carolina, Minnesota, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and more) and incorporated into EPA guidance.
"Focus on environmental issues that directly impact human health."
Dr. Pinar Kodaman, EHHI Board Member
Water Quality
“Choosing not to use pesticides on your own property is not a guarantee that pesticides will not be found in your well water. Groundwater does not recognize property boundaries.”
From an EHHI groundwater study.
Protecting drinking water has been a central focus of EHHI's research. Studies have examined groundwater contamination, pesticides, private wells, PFAS, hydraulic fracturing, and other threats to drinking water quality. EHHI's work has helped communities better understand how contaminants move through the environment and why protecting water at its source is essential to protecting public health.
"If you don't know what's going on, break the chain of exposure. If you can't break the chain of exposure, warn people."
Dr. David O. Brown, Founding EHHI Board Member
Plastics, Microplastics, & Nanoplastics
"Reducing unnecessary exposure is often the most effective form of prevention."
From an EHHI plastics study.
Long before plastics became a national conversation, EHHI examined the human health implications of BPA, phthalates, plastic additives, food packaging, and microplastics. EHHI's reports translated emerging scientific evidence into practical guidance while identifying important research gaps that continue to shape scientific investigation and public policy.
"We would say, here's what we know... but we don't know enough."
Dr. David O. Brown, EHHI Founding Board Member
Healthful Homes, Schools, & Workplaces
"The places where we spend the most time often determine the environmental exposures we receive."
A principle reflected throughout EHHI's research on environmental exposures to human health.
The places where people live, learn, and work have a profound influence on health. EHHI has investigated healthy school environments, mold, indoor air quality, pesticides, consumer products, building materials, workplace exposures, and community design. Its research has helped identify practical solutions that reduce environmental risks while creating healthier indoor environments for children and adults.
"Environmental policy must begin with the protection of human health."
Nancy Alderman, EHHI Founder
Cancer Causes & Prevention
"There is an environmental contributor to cancer."
Dr. Sarah Schellhorn, EHHI Board Member
Understanding the environmental causes of cancer has been a defining area of EHHI's work. Reports have explored environmental carcinogens, pesticides, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, air pollution, radiation, nutrition, and other factors that influence cancer risk. By translating scientific evidence into practical recommendations, EHHI has helped advance a prevention-focused approach that recognizes reducing harmful environmental exposures as an important strategy for lowering cancer risk.
"Cancer prevention depends on our willingness to continually evaluate the scientific evidence as it evolves."
Dr. Barry Boyd, EHHI Board Member