Senate panel advances chemical regulation bill

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill to update regulation of harmful chemicals for the first time in nearly 40 years won approval from a Senate committee Tuesday, moving it closer to a vote in the full Senate.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the bill, 15-5. Four Democrats joined all 11 committee Republicans to support the bill, which would set safety standards for tens of thousands of chemicals that now are unregulated. The bill also would offer protections for people vulnerable to the effects of chemicals such as pregnant women, children and workers, and set deadlines for the Environmental Protection Agency to act.

If enacted into law, the bill would be the first significant update to the Toxic Substances Control Act since the law was adopted in 1976.

“This isn’t a perfect bill, but it is a very good one,” said Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., one of the bill’s lead sponsors. “The American people want a law that protects them and their families from chemicals like asbestos, BPA, formaldehyde, styrene and so many other hazardous substances.”

Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, the bill’s chief Republican sponsor, said action on toxic chemical regulation is “long overdue,” and said the bill approved by the environment panel “provides the necessary updates to ensure chemical safety in the United States for decades to come.”

Noting strong opposition from some Democratic senators, including California Sen. Barbara Boxer, Vitter said lawmakers have a choice: support a bipartisan compromise or remain “stuck with existing law.”

Regulation of chemicals took on new urgency after a crippling spill in West Virginia last year contaminated drinking water for 300,000 people.