ECOLAB INC. — Director's Dealing 2007

Dec 12, 2007

SEC Form 4 — Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership

Issuer: ECOLAB INC (ECL)
CIK: 0000031462
Period of Report: 2007-12-10

Reporting Person: JOHNSON JOEL W (Director)

Non-Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Code	Shares	Price	A/D	Holdings After	Ownership
2007-12-10	Common Stock	M	24000	$16.156	Acquired	85203.74	Direct
2007-12-10	Common Stock	F	7614	$50.925	Disposed	77673.220	Direct

Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Exercise Price	Code	Shares	A/D	Expiration	Underlying	Ownership
2007-12-10	Common Stock	$16.156	M	24000	Disposed	2008-05-08	Common Stock (24000)	Direct

Footnotes

F1: Reflects the reporting person's payment of the exercise price for a stock option issued in accordance with Rule 16b-3 by delivering shares of Ecolab Common Stock.

F2: Includes 83.48 shares acquired by reporting person on October 18, 2007 by dividend reinvestment under the Dividend Reinvestment Plan for shareholders of Ecolab sponsored by Computershare Trust Company, Inc.

F3: Option granted under the Ecolab Inc. 1995 Non-Employee Director Stock Option Plan on May 8, 1998. The option was originally reported as covering 12,000 shares at an exercise price of $32.3125 but has been adjusted to reflect a stock split on June 6, 2003. The option became exercisable, cumulatively, as to one-third of the total shares subject to the option on each of the three subsequent dates of the annual meeting of stockholders following the date of grant.