ECOLAB INC. — Director's Dealing 2006

Dec 9, 2006

SEC Form 4 — Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership

Issuer: ECOLAB INC (ECL)
CIK: 0000031462
Period of Report: 2006-12-06

Reporting Person: BELL LAWRENCE T (SVP, GC and Secretary)

Non-Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Code	Shares	Price	A/D	Holdings After	Ownership
2006-02-18	Common Stock	G	200	$0.00	Disposed	107168	Direct

Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Exercise Price	Code	Shares	A/D	Expiration	Underlying	Ownership
2006-12-06	Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$45.24	A	36600	Acquired	2016-12-06	Common Stock (36600)	Direct

Holdings (Non-Derivative)

Security	Shares	Ownership
Common Stock	8215.818	Indirect
Common Stock	2603	Indirect
Common Stock	2711	Indirect

Footnotes

F1: Number of UNITS owned by the reporting person in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) as of September 30, 2006. Includes 193.758 UNITS acquired by the reporting person in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan since the date of his last report. (The 8215.818 UNITS are the equivalent of approximately 15,341 SHARES of the issuer's Common Stock.)

F2: A daughter of the reporting person holds 2,603 shares, of which, the reporting person is an Indirect Beneficial Owner.

F3: A daughter of the reporting person holds 2,711 shares, of which, the reporting person is an Indirect Beneficial Owner.

F4: The option will be exercisable, on a cumulative basis, as to one-third of the option shares (excluding any fractional portion less than one share), on each of the first and second anniversaries of the date of grant and as to the remaining shares on the third anniversary of the date of grant; provided, however, that if a Change in Control (as that term is defined in the 2005 Ecolab Inc. Stock Incentive Plan) will occur, then the option, if it has been outstanding for at least six months from the date of grant, will become immediately exercisable in full.