ALBANY — The state Senate and Assembly majorities approved several environmental measures on Tuesday, including a crackdown on hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals found in toys, household items and baby products.

A ban on the sale of furniture, costumes and toys with flame retardants that have been linked to cancers — such as organohalogen and tris — passed both houses. The legislation also bans mercury, formaldehyde, asbestos and arsenic in items that children come in contact with, while listing other substances "of concern" that would be subject to new disclosure requirements.

The bills, along with other environmental initiatives, have for years stalled in the Senate, which until January was led by Republicans.

"The Senate finally has a majority that accepts science and the realities of climate change," Democratic Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said at a press conference unveiling the conference's environmental package.

Environmental advocates on Tuesday lamented the Legislature's failed to ban the sale of products with 1,4 dioxane, an emerging drinking water contaminant linked to cancers that is frequently contained in popular brands of shampoo, laundry detergent and dish soap.

Certain baby bath products and Dreft detergent for infants were among those found to have large quantities of the chemical, according to a study by Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE).

In December, the state moved to set a maximum contaminant levels for 1,4 dioxane and other toxins that have contaminated drinking water supplies in Long Island, Newburgh and Hoosick Falls.

Thousands of New Yorkers who want to ban 1,4 dioxane from household products have signed petitions and sent letters to the Senate majority, according CCE executive director Adrienne Esposito.

"All over New York, people get it. We shouldn't be washing our hair and bathing our infants ... with 1,4 dioxane — letting it wash down the drain and then pollute our waters — when we can avoid that," Esposito said.

The state Drinking Water Quality Council last year recommended that the state Health Department cap the contamination levels in drinking water at 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and PFOS each, and 1 part per billion (ppb) for 1,4 dioxane.

Twelve cleaning and bath products tested by CCE were found to contain between 5,500 and 17,000 ppb of 1,4 dioxane.

The "toxic toy" ban lists 1,4 dioxane as one of more than 100 "chemicals of concern" that manufacturers must screen for and report to the state.

Assemblyman Steve Englebright, a Suffolk County Democrat who has sponsored a separate bill prohibiting sale of cosmetics with 1,4 dioxane, pointed to the expense of removing the chemical from water resources in Long Island.

"Water suppliers in Long Island view this as the No. 1 enemy. ... We should not allow any more time to go by before we enact this ban, because the contamination has already indicated a cost of almost a billion dollars," Englebright said.

Since 1,4 dioxane is not an ingredient but a byproduct of a chemical reaction, it is not listed on product labels. Advocates say that manufacturers can easily and cheaply remove it, but many do not.

The industry has pushed back on the 1,4 dioxane limits and are in discussions with lawmakers about the level of the chemical that is harmful through skin contact, according to the bill sponsors.

Lobbyists also contend that the list of regulated substances for toys and other child-friendly products is arbitrary, overbroad and does not consider how the product is used.

Darren Suarez, director of government affairs of the Business Council of New York, said the bill is poorly crafted, pointing to repeated chemicals on the list, which he said suggests the legislation is "a cut-and-paste job from other states."

"Looking at their list, it's hard to determine their intellectual reasoning for their inclusion or exclusion of harmful chemicals," Suarez said. "It's unclear how they evaluated those chemicals ... or how they determined whether or not they have an effect on human health or the environment."

The Senate and Assembly also passed matching legislation Tuesday prohibiting the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which many upstate farmers say they rely on but is associated with negative health effects, particularly in children. Lawmakers also passed a bill reducing the amount of mercury that may be contained in mercury lamps.

The bills are headed to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's desk.