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The split surfaced at a Senate hearing about the latest version of a bill, introduced by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.), that would update a 35-year-old law regulating chemicals found in everything from water bottles to crib mattresses. For the first time, the measure would require chemical companies to prove that their products are safe and would allow the Environmental Protection Agency to restrict those that are not.

Restrictions now imposed on the EPA are so tight that it has required testing on only 200 of the roughly 80,000 chemicals registered in the United States and banned five. Consumer advocates and some large chemical companies agree that the law needs to be updated, but gaining bipartisan support in Congress has proved tricky, in part because the chemical industry has resisted major changes.

The American Chemistry Council – which represents the nation’s biggest chemical makers, including Dow, DuPont and Exxon Mobil Chemical – said the most recent version of the bill is not good enough.