WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved a bipartisan bill to update regulation of harmful chemicals for the first time in nearly 40 years.
The Senate approved the bill on a voice vote Thursday night with just a handful of senators in the chamber.
The bill would set safety standards for tens of thousands of chemicals that now are unregulated. It also would offer protections for people such as pregnant women, children and workers who are vulnerable to the effects of chemicals, 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.
The bill now goes to the House, where lawmakers approved a similar bill in June.
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