The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state governments appear to be under-reporting refinery and chemical plant toxic air emissions on a “startling magnitude,” according to a new study by the Washington, DC-based Environmental Integrity Project and the Galveston Houston-Association for Smog Prevention.

The emissions in question include carcinogens, benzene and butadiene, to the tune of at least 330 million pounds per year, the study said.

The study is being released ahead of EPA's release of the 2002 Toxic Release Inventory, expected to come out this week. The analysis finds that the presence of the carcinogens, benzene and butadiene in the air in the United States may be four to five times higher than the level the EPA reports to the public.

The study, which is based on findings by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, applies the commission's findings on the under-reporting of certain toxic emissions nationwide and concludes that at least 16 percent of toxic air emissions from all sources "have been kept 'off the books'."

Additionally, the study notes that the EPA for years has knowingly under-reported the air pollution data in its annual report. The study concludes: "... EPA has failed to improve monitoring and reporting of toxic air pollution. In fact, EPA has moved in the opposite direction and has weakened some federal monitoring requirements.”

John Wilson, director of the Galveston-Houston organization, said: "We are tired of industry accounting tricks that always seem to show pollution releases dropping rapidly, while air quality improvements seem so slow. It is time for EPA and the states to require real measurements from industry, and take forthright action to protect the public from chemicals that cause cancer, respiratory, cardiovascular and reproductive disease."

Founded by former EPA official Eric Schaeffer, the Environmental Integrity Project (http://www.enviromentalintegrity.org) is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, established in March of 2002, to advocate for more effective enforcement of environmental laws.

The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (http://www.ghasp.org) is a community-based environmental organization dedicated to improving the quality of its region's hazardous air through public education, participation in the state and federal planning process, and active advocacy in appropriate venues.