phosphate detergents in those areas of the country where such use would not lead to excessive eutrophication.

I believe we should start with a basic nationwide limit on the phosphate content in detergents. Then if studies by EPA indicate that certain sectors or regions of the country are not environmentally harmed by the use of phosphates, the Administrator could exempt those areas from the 8.7% requirement or any further restriction imposed by him on the use of phosphates.

Even if phosphorus is not a pollution problem everywhere, it is still a national problem. I fully agree with the conclusion of the House Government Operations Committee in its 1970 report on detergent phosphates that

"If as the evidence shows, phosphorus is the limiting nutrient for algae growth in the Great Lakes-the largest body of fresh water on the planet-then the role of phosphorus in eutrophication is intolerable, even if it does not affect a single other lake anywhere."

In recognition of the need to safeguard public health, my bill would require the Administrator to set public health, as well as environmental, standards. Prior to establishing these standards the Administrator would be required to consult with the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare.

Furthermore, the bill would preserve the existing authority of the Secretary of HEW to take action against hazardous detergents under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

If the Administrator finds a substitute which conforms to the standards and is available for commercial production, he could restrict the use of phosphates below the 8.7% level or even prohibit their use entirely.

Recognizing that highly effective cleaning detergents may be critically needed in places such as hospitals, the bill would authorize the Administrator to make exceptions, if necessary, from the requirements limiting the use of phosphates in detergents. I would expect such authority to be exercised sparingly in view of the other safeguards written into the bill and in view of the fact that nonphosphate detergents can be used in institutions with the dangers to children that are present in home use.

Finally, let me emphasize that my bill would establish a uniform national standard. Conflicting state and local laws would be preempted, thereby giving manufacturers greater marketing certainty while at the same time providing a standard which applies to every area where eutrophication is a problem.

Mr. Chairman, there is a need for Federal legislation to control detergents which is in harmony with the findings of the Surgeon General. I hope the Subcommittee will take into account the need to protect both the environment and public health as it considers this matter.

Thank you.

Senator SPONG. The next witness will be Dr. Eldib.

STATEMENT OF DR. IBRAHIM ELDIB, PRESIDENT, ELDIB ENGINEERING AND RESEARCH, INC., NEWARK, N.J.

Dr. ELDIB. Senator Spong, honorable members of the committee, ladies and gentlemen:

My name is Dr. Ibrahim Andrew Eldib, president and founder of Eldib Engineering and Research, Inc., Newark, N.J. Our company has been in existence since 1962, working in the fields of water and air pollution control and solid waste disposal. We are a group of scientists and engineers. Our clients are very diversified: among them are the Federal Government, local governments, oil companies, chemical companies, detergent producers, utilities, sanitary landfill operators, et cetera. Our clients are located in the United States, Europe, and Japan. I became interested in detergents in 1960 when foam was covering rivers and in 1961 I developed a process to eliminate this foam. The development work was funded by a Public Health Service contract.

Sewage treatment was not chosen as a solution, but rather agreement was reached between the various regulatory agencies and the detergent industry to switch to a detergent compound called LAS which broke down in sewage treatment so we do not see foam on rivers.

At the same time that I was working on removing the persistent foaming ingredients there were whispers that phosphates which constitute about half of the laundry detergent box are a source of pollution. Phosphates from detergents leave the home washing machine, go down into the drainpipe to the sewage treatment plant, and eventually enter lakes and rivers in such quantities so as to turn up nature's time machine by accelerating one of nature's processes, "eutrophication." Eutrophication is abundance of food causing the gradual filling of lakes by decaying plants, a process which normally takes thousands of

years.

I can safely state that I am one of the earliest scientists who looked into substitutes for phosphates. At Eldib, working with our limited resources, we have concentrated our efforts on developing commercially feasible phosphate-free detergents which are made without hazardous substances.

POLYPHOSPHATE DETERGENT BUILDERS

In detergents, phosphate compounds called polyphosphates act as water softeners and disperse soil in very fine particles so that they would not deposit on clothes once they were removed. Phosphates are also rather mild alkalizing and buffering agents.

SUBSTITUTES FOR PHOSPHATES-NTA

Many companies looked at a compound called NTA (nitrilo-triacetic acid) as a new detergent builder. As far as I know it was never intended to replace phosphates. It was just a new builder to complement phosphates. We at Eldib looked at NTA and concluded in 1967 that it had too much nitrogen and gave up on it. This was based on experiments which showed us that NTA promoted as much algae as phosphates. We told that to a number of people in the detergent industry, and Chemical Week, a well known journal, in 1967 carried a story on our results. But the message never penetrated.

In early 1970 public pressure mounted to remove phosphates. The detergent makers had to fall back on NTA. In mid-1970 along came Dr. Samuel Epstein, a Harvard pathologist who hypothesized that NTA when it breaks down by sewage microorganisms may form compounds called amines and that when these amines react with nitrates in surface or ground drinking water they can form nitrosoamines, some of which are cancer-causing compounds. The Public Health Service naturally was concerned and wanted to test this new compound. They concluded-no it is not safe.

GLUCONIC ACID

This compound is made by fermentation of molasses. We found that it could possibly be used as a replacement for phosphates but required a very alkaline, highly caustic formulation, so we gave up on it too.

CITRIC ACID

Citric acid is a mild acidulant, widely used in soft drinks and remedies for stomach ailments. Before World War II citric acid was produced from lemon juice, but when the demand increased it was necessary to seek other sources. So it was manufactured in million pound quantities by fermentation of molasses.

Today we find that citric acid is a fairly good detergent builder; it cannot be used as a total substitute for phosphates, but one can build a satisfactory phosphate-free detergent around citric acid. This is certainly not a pipe dream. In Sweden a new detergent free from phosphates and built with citric acid is in existence. The makers told me they are doing well and their sales have substantially increased since they introduced this new product.

Since in Europe they do their laundry at higher temperatures than we do in the States, we developed phosphate-free detergents built with citric acid which would work in the States. We even went as far as developing citric formulations for Japan where they wash with cold

water.

POLYELECTROLYTES

In addition to citric acid we have used new detergent builders called polyelectrolytes. These organic chemicals are approved for use in food in Japan, a country which possibly has the most stringent regulations in the world on food additives. Our formulations permit us to overcome the high alkalinity problems associated with some nonphosphate detergents.

The polyelectrolytes are the safest and most

versatile group of chemicals that could possibly be used as detergent builders. They are made like a chain: -000000000000composed of individual links 0- Each link contains only

degradability, solubility, etc. can be controlled....the chains

Every link in the chain can be varied and combinations can be made

Polyelectrolytes provide an infinite number of possibilities. The table we show here shows how they can be put together:

They are, we believe, the builders of the future.

POLYELECTROLYTES FROM STARCH AND FROM PETROLEUM

Polyelectrolytes can be made from the starch content of potatoes and corn. They can also be made from petrochemicals.

OTHER SUBSTITUTES

In addition to polyelectrolytes and citrates Eldib is currently working with other promising phosphate substitutes. However, we have not yet manufactured a detergent product from these new formulations.

WHERE THE FUTURE LIES

Through the use of polyelectrolytes, citric acid and other similar compounds there is no need to rely on highly alkaline substances to do the washing. Eldib has developed high-quality, safe nonphosphate detergents which are now available for licensing, manufacturing, or marketing on a commercial scale.

ADVICE TO THE HOUSEWIFE

We know enough about pollution caused by phosphates that we cannot encourage or even suggest to the housewife to keep on using high phosphate content detergents.

My advice to the housewife is to use low-phosphate or nonphosphate detergents but to read "caution" labels carefully and to follow directions.