An Unlikely Ally in the Fight Against Bay Pollution

Certain chemicals found in laundry detergents have been finding their way into major waters across the country.

But while these chemicals, known as optical brighteners, may be considered a contaminant, some environmentalists say they actually help detect other more dangerous pollutants.

Over the last few years, water sampling groups like that at Manahawkin's Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Sciences, part of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School, have been finding high levels of optical brighteners in rivers and storm drain runoffs draining to Barnegat Bay.

"Optical brighteners are a good tool for indentifying sources of waste water that can be utilized by high school students or citizen groups as a means to track down pollution," said Jennifer Thompson, a spokeswoman for conservation nonprofit Clean Ocean Action. 

Water testing has proved that optical brighteners are also found in connection with other contaminates like E. Coli and other fecal coliform colonies. Testing during or after rain storms usually results in findings of higher levels of optical brighteners as well as fecal coliform. And since the test for brighteners is easier and more straightforward than ones for the dangerous bacteria, it can be a useful tool for monitoring water quality.

"Optical brighteners are found in laundry detergents to 'brighten your whites' and so anywhere there are problems with infrastructure having to do with wastewater, like systems that take waste water from your home (washing machine, dishwasher, toilet, showers)," said Thompson. "They can be used as tracers for the source of pollution." 

For example, if you use laundry detergent in your washing machine and you have a leaking pipeline, it could ultimately seep into a water source near your home. Emptying wastewater directly into the sewer system would also result in pollutants emptying into a reservoir or waterway.

Most of the testing for brighteners occurs with high school students or citizens who are concerned about water quality, as opposed to at the county level.

"(Testing is) a fairly straightforward process and it’s a way where lots of people can get out into the watershed and into the waterways, searching for these sources of optical brighteners," Thompson said. "The state can't be everywhere at all times, but the citizens that truly care about waterways can use these simple devices to track down pollution on the water."

Thompson said optical brighteners are used as "tracers" to detect where other sources of pollution are coming from.

Finding the source of pollution is key to keeping water clean, Thompson said.

"It’s the pollution that is found with the optical brighteners that we need to eliminate," Thompson said.

Besides detergents and paper products, optical brighteners are found in fabric whitening, textile whitening and even color-correcting cosmetic formulas such as shampoos, conditioners and eye makeup can contain optical brighteners.

To find out more about optical brighteners and how to test for them, please contact the MATES program in Manahawkin. To contact Clean Ocean Action, please visit their website.