The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal Thursday to reduce oil-refinery pollution that, if adopted, would mark the first change to the industry's emission standards in almost two decades. The changes would compel operators to monitor benzene emissions, upgrade storage-tank emission controls, ensure waste gases are properly destroyed, and adopt new emission standards for delayed coking units. Operators also would have to make the results of monitoring publicly available. "The common-sense steps we are proposing will protect the health of families who live near refineries and will provide them with important information about the quality of the air they breathe," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement. The EPA says the proposals would reduce toxic air emissions by an estimated 5,600 tons per years. Environmental groups argue that companies underreport the amount of chemicals they release, and have called for the federal agency to enforce stricter reporting requirements.