Boston urges phosphate-free detergent use
Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/decatur/News/2656/
DECATUR ó City utilities manager James Boston explained the impact a household or a community can make on the environment by using phosphate-free cleaning products.
Although Decaturís wastewater treatment plant stays well within its permit limits for phosphates, excess phosphates in the water is a problem across the country because of their effects on the environment.
Phosphates are essential, natural compounds present in all living organisms, both animal and vegetable, according to the Phosphate Forum of the Americanís Web site, www. phosphatesfacts. org.
Phosphates can be found in fertilizers, detergents, baking powder, toothpaste, cured meat, evaporated milk, soft drinks, processed cheese, pharmaceuticals, water softeners and a long list of common household products. They occur in nature and are mined from ancient seabeds for commercial use.
Even though phosphorus is a natural and safe product, too much phosphorus is a problem because it is one of the nutrients required for alga growth. When algae and other plants grow to excess in lakes and streams, they deplete the water of oxygen, which kills fish and causes the water bodies to age, Boston said. The process is called eutrophication.
Phosphorus and other nutrients such as nitrogen which cause eutrophication can come from many sources, according to the U. S. Geological Survey. Examples are fertilizers applied to fields, golf courses and lawns, nitrogen from the atmosphere, erosion of soil and sewage-treatment-plant discharge.
Two of the biggest household offenders are dish detergents and laundry detergents, Boston said.
Lists of phosphorus-free products can be found online and purchased inexpensively at grocery stores. Many cleaning products are labeled phosphorus free, and dishwashing detergents are required by law to list phosphate levels on their labels.
Boston said he would prefer to see residents use the new chlorine-based dishwashing detergents because most of the chlorine evaporates out of the water before it reaches the wastewater treatment plant.
ì Since weíre only a community of 1, 500 or so, if everybody changed laundry soap and dishwashing detergent, I think it would definitely make a difference, î he said.
Boston said Peterson Industries has done a good job of limiting phosphorus from their wastewater by changing their poultry-cleaning solutions to a phosphorus-free formula.
Only 15 to 20 percent of phosphorus can be eliminated using natural biological means in the wastewater treatment plant, Boston said. The rest of the phosphorus is removed using alum.
Once the new wastewater treatment plant is open, a higher percentage of phosphates will be removed biologically. Boston explained that alum is expensive, even though itís the most economical chemical for the plant to use to remove phosphates.
ì We donít want to use more chemicals, we want to use biology, î he said. Micro-organisms are used to break down waste throughout the treatment process.
ì Every little bit makes a difference, î Boston said. Each household can do its part to help control the problem.