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SALT LAKE CITY -- A bill that would lift the ban on phosphorus in dishwashing detergents failed to gain approval from a House committee Tuesday.
HB246 failed to pass the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Standing Committee with a vote of 6-6. A motion to table the bill also failed.
Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, said he sponsored the bill because of claims that dishes haven't been as clean since the ban was enacted last year.
Sandstrom told the committee he doesn't think phosphates that come from dishwashing detergent are the environmental problem some claim them to be. He said the majority of excess phosphates come from manufacturing or are naturally occurring in soil.
A member of the committee asked Sandstrom if he thinks phosphorus causes any environmental damage.
"In very high concentration levels it can be one of the factors," Sandstrom said. "It's not the only factor."
Restaurants are still able to use phosphates in their cleaning, Sandstrom said, because they are important for sanitation. "There's a big difference between sanitary dishes and clean dishes," he said.
Rep. Christine Watkins, D-Price, said nobody has gotten sick in her house because of unsanitary dishes.
Some committee members called California, a state that has also banned phosphates in dishwashing detergents, the "800-pound gorilla in the room." They mentioned there is not a lot of incentive for detergents to be manufactured with phosphates since California is such a big market.
Sandstrom said detergent manufacturers could "easily expand their distribution into Utah" because they are producing them for neighboring states.
The committee meeting turned into a show and tell of sorts as members of the public testified to legal products that help clean dishes to a pre-phosphate-ban shine.
Both the public and committee members raised concerns about the effect of phosphorus on the environment, but the trump card seemed to be the cost to taxpayers of purifying water supplies if phosphates returned to detergents.
Walt Baker, director of the Utah Division of Water Quality, said it could cost the state up to $1 billion to remove the phosphates from the water supply if the ban is repealed.
E-mail: averzello@desnews.com
