GALENA PARK, Texas (AP) — Environmental advocates and residents living near oil refineries asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday to force petroleum companies to adopt stricter emissions standards and publicly release emissions data to help reduce communities’ exposure to a cancer-causing chemical.

By midafternoon, about 60 people had addressed the federal agency during a hearing on the EPA’s proposal to compel refineries — for the first time — to monitor and report emissions of benzene to nearby communities.