The Chamber of Commerce has taken the position that taxpayers have a right to know where their money is going.

The study, called the Pope study after its chief researcher, was conducted approximately six years ago to determine whether or not new health standards would have a beneficial effect on public health, according to Kovacs.

After concluding that this was in fact the case, Kovacs said that an independent research group analyzed the results and estimated that the government could save 40,000 lives every year with an expenditure of $50 billion.

Frank Coleman, the spokesperson for the Chamber, said that this figure is controversial and said he thinks that the EPA does not have an accurate conception of what reforms actually need to be implemented, in part because of the ambiguity of the data.

Based on the finding that thousands of people die each year as a result of inhalation of particles in the air, the EPA called for reforms that include stricter air quality standards.

"The EPA is all too ready to stand up and say that it will save thousands of lives," Coleman said. "But [that conclusion] is both arbitrary and capricious."

Kovacs said that many different people have been trying to get a copy of the study to see if the effects are in fact verifiable, but attempts have been unsuccessful.

The chamber filed the FOIAs with the expectation that the EPA will reject them. The chamber will then likely sue for the release of the data.