Effects of Laundry Detergent on the Enviroment

Research of Laundry Detergents and Their Effect on the Environment
Introduction
There is no question in the scientific world that laundry detergents have an effect on plant growth, but the doubt lies in what it exactly does to the plants and how dangerous it really is. Detergent companies state very vaguely what ingredients are in their detergents, probably because they don’t want people to know they are washing their clothes with all sorts of un-natural ingredients. The Soap and Detergent Association claims that a household amount of detergent is not able to harm the environment. To find the truth, though, we need to know what goes in to detergents, how much of it reaches the environment, and how manufacturers are changing their recipes for detergent in an effort to create more environmentally friendly detergents, if that is possible.
Understanding Detergents
Before an investigation into the effects of detergent in the environment and on plants can be conducted, it is important to understand how detergents work. An easily understandable explanation is that “the key ingredients in detergents are surfactants and builders. Surfactants reduce the surface tension of water so that water can quickly wet a surface and remove dirt/soil, while builders inactivate the water hardness minerals which would otherwise hinder soil removal, thus making detergents more efficient” (1996 Business Wire, Gale Group). Another, more complex, explanation is that “detergent molecules have a hydrocarbon portion soluble in oil, and an ionic portion, soluble in water. The detergent acts as an emulsifier, ie by bridging the water and oil phases, it breaks down oil into droplets suspended by water. The disruption of the oil film allows the dirt particles to become solubilized” (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition, 2006). One thing to note in both of these explanations is that detergents lower surface tension, which means that runoff in the environment is likely to increase if detergents are present in the water. Another important point is that “laundry detergents may contain substances called builders, which may contain phosphates. These builders may cause eutrophication” (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition 2006).
In Defense of Detergents
Detergents are a good thing to have in households. They make your clothes smell nice, fresh and clean. Their popularity is also due to their ability to “perform over a broad range of water hardness levels” (http://www.cleaning101.com/) unlike old fashioned soap. What isn’t popular is that detergents can only do this because many chemicals have been added to them. If someone doing their laundry is concerned with what they’re using, they may inspect the label on a detergent bottle and find that the ingredients are “Biodegradable surfactants (anionic and nonionic) and enzymes.” The label may also read “contains no phosphates” (both were copied directly from a Gain Detergent Bottle). This explanation will do nothing to help the average person. Only the “contains no phosphates” piece of information will appeal to the reader because they will assume that phosphates are bad to have in detergents. They may even know that phosphates contribute to eutrophication. It is stated by the Soap and Detergent Association that “cleaning products do not typically contain ingredients that would harm the environment in quantities that are disposed by households” (http://www.sdahq.org/). This statement is only true if one household were dumping detergent, but if every household in a neighborhood or a city dumped their detergent irresponsibly then there would surely be an environmental problem. Disposing of detergent improperly will cause human and environmental health threats. Improper methods of disposal include “pouring it down the drain, on the ground outside, into storm sewers, or throwing it out in the trash” (http://www.oxyboost.com/). A gaping hole in the S&DA’s statement is that they do not state which ingredients need higher quantities to harm the environment.
The Problems With Detergents
Detergents are truly a menace to the environment. They use ingredients that are dangerous to the environment because they are acidic, alkaline, cause eutrophication or stunt plant growth. While detergents might smell nice, they are also dangerous to human health because many of the chemicals added can cause lung damage when inhaled too often. Since it is impossible to know exactly what is in a certain brand of detergents we can only guess at what is in detergents by using a common list of ingredients. Ingredients in detergent may be “linear alkyl sodium salfonates (lass), petroleum distillates (aka napthas), phenol, optical brighteners, phosphates, sodium hypochlonite (household bleach), ethylene-diamino-tetra-acetate (EDTA) and artificial fragrances” (http://www.sixwise.com/). While almost all ingredients in detergent are dangerous in one way or another, two of the most dangerous ingredients are phosphates and petroleum distillates. It is well known that “a major problem with phosphates is that, when released into the environment, they stimulate the growth of certain marine plants, which contributes to unbalanced ecosystems” (http://www.sixwise.com/). A lesser known danger is posed by petroleum distillates. It is said that “these chemicals have been linked to cancer, lung damage, lung inflammation and damage to mucous membranes” (http://www.sixwise.com/). Even though the problems with detergents are becoming clearer and clearer, there are still obstacles to creating more environmentally friendly detergents, because the nature of detergents and how they work is not environmentally friendly. One issue is that “with the movement toward environmentally safer detergents, phosphates have been removed from detergents and replaced in many brands with sodium carbonate. This makes it highly alkaline and very dangerous if inhaled or ingested” (1990 Pediatrics for Parents Magazine). Another challenging issue is that “as developing countries are becoming more sophisticated they are changing from soap bars to detergents, especially laundry detergents” (Business Wire, Gale Group). Any effort to make an environmentally friendly laundry detergent is already doomed because an environmentally friendly laundry detergent is an oxymoron.
Conclusion
Detergents are both a blessing and a curse. We can’t live without them but they’re a huge challenge to live with. The best thing that any person concerned about the environment can do is to stop this problem at the source and dispose of their laundry detergents properly. Doing this will stop the need to create an “environmentally friendly” detergent. If we take care of our environment the world will be a more beautiful place to live.