State to Regulate Dishwashing Detergent?

The state legislature in Minnesota is looking at a bill that would restrict phosphorus levels in automatic-dishwashing detergents. Supporters say it would reduce harmful algae blooms in lakes and streams. If the bill passes, it would be the first state to make such restrictions. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Christina Shockley reports:

Transcript

The state legislature in Minnesota is looking at a bill that would restrict phosphorus levels in
automatic-dishwashing detergents. Supporters say it would reduce harmful algae blooms in lakes
and streams. If the bill passes, it would be the first state to make such restrictions. The Great
Lakes Radio Consortium’s Christina Shockley reports:


Phosphorus in detergents helps to clean dishes, but when the mineral ends up in lakes and
streams, it promotes algae blooms. Large algae blooms can kill fish and restrict sunlight to
bottom-rooting plants. In the 1970s, phosphorus was restricted in other types of detergents.
David Mulla is a professor in the soil, water, and climate department at the University of
Minnesota. He says that legislation did make a difference.


“We had a very large reduction in the amount of phosphorus that was being emitted to our waste
water treatment plants as a result.”


However, Mulla says dishwashing detergents are not one of the primary sources of phosphorus in
lakes and streams today. Detergent manufacturers say if they don’t use phosphorus, their
detergents might not meet some health standards. They also say a reduction won’t have any
environmental benefits. The bill is currently being discussed in the state legislature.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Christina Shockley.

New Limit on Pesticide in Drinking Water?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing how much of a commonly used pesticide it will allow in drinking water. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing how much of a commonly used
pesticide it will allow in drinking water. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham
reports:


Atrazine is one of the most commonly used pesticides in the nation. It’s found in trace
amounts in water, just about everywhere. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
has measured Atrazine levels in rainfall that exceeded the current drinking water standards. A
recent study indicated that Atrazine was causing male frogs to develop female characteristics at
even lower levels than the drinking water standard allows. Now the Environmental Protection
Agency is doing its own review of Atrazine’s environmental impacts. Dave Deegan is with the
EPA. He says that review has to be completed before the agency can determine whether drinking
water standards should change.


“At this point, really, it’s too early to know what direction that would take or how long that would
take or what the outcome would be.”


It will be late this year before the EPA Office of Water begins to study whether it should loosen,
further restrict, or leave the drinking water standards for Atrazine where they are.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.

Scientists Push for Tougher Arsenic Standards

Groundwater in some Great Lakes states has been found to meet or exceed
acceptable levels of naturally occurring arsenic. Growing concern about
the health effects of arsenic consumption recently prompted the U-S
Academy of Sciences to recommend that the federal government create more
stringent standards for human consumption of arsenic. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Marisa Helms has the story: