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SAINTE ADELE, Que. – Dishwashing detergent might soon carry a notation on the box that signifies it is phosphate-free, at least in Quebec.
At the end of a day-long forum on what to do about Quebec’s blooming blue-green algae problem, Premier Jean Charest and Environment Minister Line Beauchamp announced Quebec will move to limit and ban phosphates in dishwashing detergent as early as this fall.
Ideally, the province says, the federal government will get aboard and ban it across Canada, but with or without its consent, Quebec will act on detergents as part of a new 10-year, $200-million beefed-up program to curb the algae that has infested 156 lakes.
The potentially toxic algae has also been spotted in at least eight lakes in Outaouais cottage country.
This summer, the blue-green algae has been spotted in Cameron Lake and Lake Barbue, near Gracefield.
It has also been reported in lakes Edja near Blue Sea, Carman, Kingsmere and Meech in Gatineau Park, Poisson Blanc near Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours and most recently, in Lac Leamy.
The Outaouais public health agency has warned people not to drink the water in the lakes, or use it for washing dishes, cooking or bathing.
Environmentalists argue that phosphates in dishwashing detergents are one of the sources for blue-green algae growth, because they can add five to 20 per cent more phosphorus to a lake and phosphorus is linked to the algae.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2007