ECOLAB INC. — Director's Dealing 2010

Dec 3, 2010

SEC Form 4 — Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership

Issuer: ECOLAB INC (ECL)
CIK: 0000031462
Period of Report: 2010-12-01

Reporting Person: MILLER JAMES A (President, Specialty & Service)

Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Exercise Price	Code	Shares	A/D	Expiration	Underlying	Ownership
2010-12-01	Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$48.055	A	25100	Acquired	2020-12-01	Common Stock (25100)	Direct

Holdings (Non-Derivative)

Security	Shares	Ownership
Common Stock	5162.368	Direct
Common Stock	1079.179	Indirect

Footnotes

F1: Includes 9.057 shares acquired by reporting person on January 21, 2010, 9.289 shares acquired on April 20, 2010, 8.735 shares acquired on July 20, 2010 and 8.111 shares acquired on October 20, 2010 by dividend reinvestment under the Dividend Reinvestment Plan for shareholders of Ecolab sponsored by Computershare Trust Company, Inc.

F2: Number of UNITS in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) as of October 31, 2010. Includes 13.710 UNITS acquired since the reporting person's last report. (The 1,079.179 UNITS are the equivalent of approximtely 2,014 shares of the issuer's Common Stock.)

F3: 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.