Finland to ban phosphates in laundry detergent

Far too late, says WWF maritime expert

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Finland plans to ban the use of phosphates in laundry detergents. The chemicals spur algae growth in water, especially the Baltic Sea. The ban is to take effect in 2012.
     Sweden banned the use of phosphorous in laundry detergents in 2008. Preparations are being made to apply the ban to detergents used in automatic dishwashers as well.
     Because of a lack of resources, Finland is not taking issue with dishwasher detergents at all.
     
The characteristics of chemicals that would replace phosphates are being carefully studied.
     “The lengthy timetable is because we want to be sure about the effects of zeolite, the substitute substance.”, says Eliisa Irpola of the ministry of the Environment.
      Irpola notes that some mothers have said that Zeolite causes rashes on their children.
      There are also suspicions that the clay-like zeolite might accumulate in washing machines, shortening their life span.
      There is no evidence that the substances would cause skin reactions, but Irpola feels that the suspicions need to be investigated.
     
Finland and Sweden are no pioneers in banning phosphates in detergents, a move which has been a recommendation of HELCOM, the Helsinki Commission for the protection of the Baltic marine environment, since 2007.
      The impact of a possible ban has been studied at the EU for years, and in December, the European Commission was presented with a proposal to turn the phosphate ban immediately into an EU regulation.
      HELCOM estimates that 9-24 per cent of the phosphates emitted into the Baltic Sea come from laundry detergent, while less than one per cent come from waste water from cruise ships.
     
The Finnish section of the environmental organisation WWF says that Finland’s wait of three years in the matter has been a delaying tactic, noting that phosphates were banned in laundry detergents in Germany already in the late 1980s.
      “German consumers are meticulous, but washing machines have not broken down even there, and clothes are no dirtier there than they are here, and allergies have not spread”, notes Sampsa Vilhunen, head of the marine programme of WWF.
      Phosphate detergents have been banned in at least France, Italy, The Netherlands, and most recently, the UK, which did so late last year.
     
Impola of the Ministry of the Environment agrees that Finland has not made haste in the matter, and points out that only ten per cent of detergents sold in Finland contain phosphates.
      “A total ban would be useful in areas with sparse distribution of population, such as shoreline with summer cabins. The primary goal is to make the ban cover the whole EU. Otherwise, it will take effect in Finland in 2012", Irpola says.
      The WWF says that only a few brands of laundry detergent in Finland still have phosphates.
      “However, the proportion of different brands on the market does not reveal the proportion in which they are sold. Shop owners will not disclose their sales figures”, Vilhunen says.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  St. Petersburg sharply reducing phosphorous emissions into Gulf of Finland (5.5.2008)
  Baltic Sea needs urgent attention (14.4.2008)
  Ships still discharging hundreds of tons of sewage into Baltic Sea (26.5.2006)
  New project to treat Poland’s waste water; Finnish foundation helps develop removal of phosphorus (14.5.2008)

Links:
  WWF Finland
  HELCOM

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