Environment committee  I believe there needs to be more in-depth study of this. I am not an expert, but I suspect that it is simply a question of how hot the water is during the wash cycle.

Environment committee  I would like to add something. I do think we need to exercise caution when it comes to commercial institutions, and particularly hospitals, but I do not believe phosphorus has much impact. It is really a question of temperature and sterilizing dishes and whatever else is put in t

Environment committee  No. In any case, commercial machines use heat for purposes of sterilization. This may not even be a problem for hospitals. We would need to look at that. Dishwasher detergents that do not contain phosphorus are almost as effective as the other detergents. We would have to look at

Environment committee  Yes, but I am sure that most commercial dishwashers that have a one- or two-minute cycle use heat for sterilization. Also, one part of the cycle of most domestic dishwashers is at a very high temperature. I don't think that the lack of phosphorus in commercial machines with a one

Environment committee  Over the long term, the removal of phosphorus from the products sold by the major manufacturers will have no effect on prices. Current phosphate-free detergents are expensive because manufacturers are producing much smaller volumes. Because it is scarce, manufacturers are able to

Environment committee  No, I have never conducted such a study. I am an environmental chemist; I do not study dishwashers.

Environment committee  No, I am not an expert, although I am absolutely certain that those machines use heat for sterilization. The presence or absence of phosphorus in the soap used with these machines will in no way affect a risk of transmitting pathogenic organisms.

Environment committee  It is a question of heat, as opposed to phosphorus.

Environment committee  Exactly.

Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  It is an urban legend. The Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services and other ministries in Canada have set standards with respect to cyanotoxins. In order to reach those cyanotoxin thresholds, there must be very significant concentrations of cyanobacteria. It is important t

Environment committee  I can answer that question.

Environment committee  Public health issue. It is not a public health issue; it is an issue relating to poor environmental management. A good analogy would be acid rain. Acid rain never killed anyone. And yet, we have spent about $20 billion in North America to try and solve, or at least, mitigate that

Environment committee  No, you are tackling 10 per cent of the problem in recreational lakes.

Environment committee  Exactly. Dishwasher soap represents 10 per cent of the total phosphorus that ends up in a septic tank. So, the problem can easily be reduced by 10 per cent. To completely eliminate it, we will have to tackle other aspects of the problem.