Cleansing soap.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Phosphorus on soaps - Brief article

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There's a new formula for dishwashing detergents. Sixteen states have established rules limiting the amount of phosphorus in dishwasher soap for sale on store shelves: Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Although it breaks down grease, removes stains and softens hard water, phosphorus in detergents can end up in rivers and lakes, where it acts like a fertilizer, increasing algae and aquatic weeds that rob fish and other plants of oxygen.

"Phosphorus is depleting species that sustain our ecological environments," says Representative Christine Johnson, a lead sponsor of Utah's ban. "By limiting phosphorus in detergents, we hope to support healthy waterways."

Over the past several years, states passed bans on the sale of high-phosphate detergents but agreed...