Our Man In Washington
(Page 3 of 5)
January/February 1972
By Mike Kiernan
In the last 25 years laundry detergents have replaced soap just as modern automatics have replaced the old wringer-type washing machines. To get new clothes "whiter than white", detergent manufacturers have resorted to a variety of complex detergent formulas, none of which has been shown to be both completely safe and effective.
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In summary here is the latest status of several detergent ingredients that have caused controversy:
NTA, or nitrilotriacetic acid, is a real no-no these days. Banned outright by the government, NTA is alleged to cause genetic damage in humans. Although at one time the most promising substitute for phosphates, it may never be allowed back on the market.
ENZYMES are back. Reversing an earlier decision, the Food and Drug Administration reported last November that enzyme s could irritate the skin and cause lung damage—especially among workers in factories that produced the enzyme detergents. But the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council concluded that "the average enzyme laundry product in normal use by consumers has not produced more primary irritation of the skin than have similar products that contain no enzymes." Enzymes are bio-degradable (unlike phosphates), but they won't get out all stains as some manufacturers have claimed. I don't recommend you visit—much less work in—a factory where they make the stuff.
BORATES, CARBONATES, SILICATES are all very bad to eat. They are found in the so-called non-phosphate detergents. Last August a little girl in Connecticut swallowed a handful of a new highly caustic "non-polluting" detergent and died of suffocation within six days. The ingredients had burned away her windpipe. The government, fearing that as many as 39,000 children might swallow detergents this year, reversed its stand on phosphate detergents and once again urged their use. "My advice to the housewife," said Surgeon General Jesse Steinfeld, "is at this time to use a phosphate detergent. The safest thing in terms of human health is to use phosphates." A month later Steinfeld reversed himself again when he said that not all non-phosphates contain caustic ingredients. He also said that some phosphate detergents are just as harmful to swallow as their caustic replacements. In a moment of wisdom, Steinfeld recommended soap.
PHOSPHORUS, certainly the most controversial ingredient, is found in 90% of all detergents sold in America. Phosphates are nutrients that stimulate the growth of algae in the water and, in the last few years, thousands of tons of phosphates from detergents have been dumped into American waterways. Algae growth, which depletes the supply of oxygen in the water, has become so extensive in some areas that plant and fish life are nearly extinct.
The most popular phosphate detergent is Tide, made by Proctor and Gamble . . . the biggest advertiser in America and the largest seller of detergents. At this writing Tide still contains 12.3% phosphorus, which is about 3% more than most detergents. Although many detergent makers would settle for a limit of 8.7% phosphorus in detergents, Proctor Gamble has fought adamantly against such a ruling.
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