In conditions of the formation and development of the civil society, the awareness of the population of their rights to a favorable habitat and the possibility of the practical impact on the state of sanitary and epidemiological welfare and safety of the population, provision of the protection of consumer rights, the role of public associations and the population in managing health risks appears to be undervalued. Sverdlovsk Regional Public Organization «Health and Welfare» was created to implement the idea of the protection interests and positions of the population of the Sverdlovsk region. To ensure its effective activity, the backbone of a public organization is made up of veterans of the sanitary and epidemiological service, who have knowledge, experience, traditions and representing the possibilities of public associations in the sphere of the provision of sanitary and epidemiological welfare and protection of consumers’ rights. The activity of public associations can be most effective in the practical use of non-state, public, independent forms and methods of execution of expertizes, assessments, investigations, the results of which can prevent a negative impact on human beings of harmful factors in the human environment.