About Us

A man wearing a yellow coat and a sespiratorInvitation

Since its inception, The Society for Occupational and Environmental Health (SOEH) has been an influential voice in the field. The Society continues to play a unique, integrating role by bringing together professionals in government, industry, labor, and academia. We invite you to become a member of the Society and join us in the pursuit of its ongoing mission: to reduce occupational and environmental health hazards through the presentation of scientific data and the dynamic exchange of information across institutions and disciplines.

History

SOEH was founded in 1972 under the leadership of Irving J. Selikoff at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York. This important step was taken in response to a proposal by Sheldon Samuels of the AFL-CIO to form a multi-faceted forum for academics, government policy makers, and industry and union representatives to formulate positions on public policy issues.

At the founding, the “Committee of 100″ convened at the New York Academy of Sciences to charter the Society, and Dr. Selikoff was elected its first president. The initial meeting consisted of 10 participants from industry, 10 from labor unions, 15 from Federal agencies, 10 from state and local government agencies, and the remaining 55 from academic institutions.

SOEH has convened annual conferences since that time, usually in the Washington, DC area. Conference topics have generally centered on scientific issues in public policy formation but have also addressed more generic issues. Recent annual meeting topics have included the Clean Air Act, Free Trade, tuberculosis in the workplace, and the use of health-based registries. The Society has also sponsored technical workshops such as the series of lead-based paint abatement which resulted in a guidance document.

In 1985, the Archives of Environmental Health became the official journal of SOEH. Membership and attendance at annual conferences have grown steadily over time, and leadership is provided by an outstanding group of officers and council members. The original goal of multi-faceted forum still characterizes this dynamic organization, and SOEH looks to the future with plans to provide additional mechanisms for addressing key upcoming issues in occupational and environmental health.

Membership Benefits

  • Discounted attendance rate at the Annual Conference where the latest and best in research and methodology on critical environmental and occupational health issues are featured. The conference also provides members with the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with representatives of a wide variety of disciplines and organizations.
  • A subscription to the SOEH Bulletin.
  • The opportunity to subscribe to the American Journal of Industrial Medicine and the Annual Review of Public Health at reduced rates.
  • A dynamic National Governing Council comprised of leaders in the field who have set an aggressive agenda for the future.


To join, please visit our membership page.