ALBANY, N.Y. — Pennsylvania and 11 other states sued the Bush administration on Wednesday to force greater disclosure of data on toxic chemicals that companies store, use and release into the environment.

The state officials oppose new federal Environmental Protection Agency's rules that allow thousands of companies to limit information they disclose to the public about toxic chemicals they store, use and release into the environment, according to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. He said that let 100 polluters off the hook in New York alone.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, however, said its change improves the Toxics Release Inventory law and only eases requirements on companies that can certify they have no releases of toxins to the environment.

"The EPA's new regulations rob New Yorkers — and people across the country — of their right to know about toxic dangers in their own backyards," said Cuomo, the lead attorney general in the civil lawsuit. "Along with 11 other states throughout the nation, we will restore the public's right to information about chemical hazards, despite the Bush administration's best attempts to hide it."

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said the EPA's action cripples a 20-year program that required companies to report the amount of lead, mercury and other toxins they released.

"Polluters can release 10 times more toxins like lead and mercury without telling anyone," he said.