Difficulties in Prohibiting the Use of Phosphorus in Detergents
                            By Chen Shibin
June 5 is the World Environment Day. The main topic of the  Environment
Day this year is marine protection. According to monitoring statistics
, the pollution control in local marine areas in  China  is  improving.
However, the overall situation of coastal pollution is  still  getting
more serious. The pollution in three rivers and three lakes (the  Huai
River, the Hai River, the Liao River, the Tai Lake, the Cao  Lake  and
the Dian Lake) is striking. The inflow of great  amounts  of  nitrogen
and phosphorus causing water eutrophication is considered  to  be  the
major factor  for  water  body  pollution.   Phosphorus  contained  in
detergents is one of the four factors (chemical fertilizers,   excreta
of man and animal, erosion and loss of water  and  earth,   phosphorus
-containing detergents) for water eutrophication. The  idea  came  into
being in the 60's when the water in the  Great  Lakes  of  the  United
States and Canada was polluted and has been universally  accepted  for
years. The worldwide campaign for prohibiting the  use  of  phosphorus
and the heated debate over the use of phosphorus in detergents started
at that time.
1. Different views in prohibiting the use of phosphorus in detergents
The  debate  over  the  use  of  phosphorus  in   detergents   involves
environmental protection departments, detergent producers,  government
authorities and responsible departments  of  related  industries.   It
seems that every department has its own views.
The State Administration of Light Industry says that phosphorus (sodium
tripolyphosphate) is a detergent  auxiliary  with  the  most  complete
functions and the most rational price-performance ratio, and  is  also
the best environmental selection among various detergent  auxiliaries.
No other raw materials can replace it so far.   China  Association  of
Detergent Industry says that water eutrophication  is  caused  by  the
damage of the aquatic food chain,  and  phosphorus  in  detergents  is
related to water eutrophication only in special cases  when  water  is
polluted and  the  feeding  function  of  plankton  is  reduced.   The
substitute 4A zeolite will have a negative impact on detergent  effect
because of problems in coordination  with  other  ingredients.   Using
aluminum salts as detergent auxiliaries, a prevailing practice in  the
world, can not fully  solve  the  pollution  problem  either.   Sodium
tripolyphosphate is therefore still a detergent  auxiliary  which  can
hardly be replaced.
Environmental protection departments have a different opinion. They say
that since phosphorus is a  factor  or  an  indirect  cause  of  water
pollution, it is better for us to prohibit the use of  phosphorus  and
stop the "pollution source" before there is any effective  measure  to
prevent phosphorus pollution. Mr. Jin, Director of the Water  Research
Institute of the Chinese Academy of  Environmental  Sciences,   argues
that most of lakes and rivers in China are polluted by  phosphorus  at
varying degrees. The pollution of 60% of them is from  domestic  waste
water, and around 40% of domestic waste water has detergents. China is
a developing country, and it can not take a  road  of  first  allowing
pollution and then controlling pollution. China  has  no  capacity  to
construct a sewage treatment plant in every  water  regime.   Stopping
pollution sources is therefore of extreme importance.
2. "Luowa" - pioneer of phosphorus-free detergents
on Jan. 23, 1996, "Luowa" soap powder, a new  generation  environmental
protection detergent developed and produced  by  Beijing  Hongtai  New
Chemical Material Co., Ltd., was approved by the  State  Environmental
Protection Bureau and  the  State  Technical  Supervision  Bureau  and
certified by  China  Environmental  Protection  Product  Certification
Commission. It is the first product in the detergent sector to get the
environmental protection label from the commission. It has filled  the
gap in the phosphorus-free detergent market in China and started a new
page in domestic detergent production.
After  "Luowa"  got  the  environmental  protection  label,     several
phosphorus-free detergents appeared in the domestic market.   However,
in more than 100 detergent producers, only 5 or 6 producers  have  got
the environmental protection label. There was once a "phosphorus- free
whirlwind" in the market, but it failed to  blow  into  the  heart  of
consumers.
3. Consumers showing no special interest  in  environmental  protection
products
A striking contrast between consumers in China and  those  in  advanced
countries is that consumers in  China  show  no  special  interest  in
environmental protection  products.   Some  people  say  that  Chinese
consumers believe more in ads  and  their  consumption  behaviors  are
swayed by ads. That is why foreign products have such a big market  in
China. Although a little partial, there is something in the argument.
Major enterprises in the detergent sector have  contributed  the  whole
plant or a workshop as  equity  in  the  joint  venture  with  foreign
companies. 13 of them are  washing  powder  producers.   Before  joint
venture the output  of  these 13 washing powder producers was