ECOLAB INC. — Director's Dealing 2011

Dec 6, 2011

SEC Form 4 — Statement of Changes in Beneficial Ownership

Issuer: ECOLAB INC (ECL)
CIK: 0000031462
Period of Report: 2011-12-01

Reporting Person: Hickey Michael A (Ex.VP & Pres. Institutional)

Derivative Transactions

Date	Security	Exercise Price	Code	Shares	A/D	Expiration	Underlying	Ownership
2011-12-01	Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy)	$55.595	A	25000	Acquired	2021-12-01	Common Stock (25000)	Direct

Holdings (Non-Derivative)

Security	Shares	Ownership
Common Stock	16617.979	Direct
Common Stock	3650.240	Indirect

Footnotes

F1: Includes 12.804 shares acquired by reporting person on January 21, 2011, 12.438 shares acquired on April 20, 2011, 11.395 shares acquired on July 20, 2011 and 12.131 shares acquired on October 20, 2011 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, 2011. Includes 76.908 UNITS acquired since the reporting person's last report. (The 3,650.240 UNITS are the equivalent of approximtely 6,800 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.