X0306 4 2012-12-05 0 0000031462 ECOLAB INC ECL 0001275967 HANDLEY THOMAS W ECOLAB INC. 370 WABASHA STREET N. ST. PAUL MN 55102 0 1 0 0 President and COO Common Stock 40963 D Common Stock 530.523 I By Ecolab Savings Plan Employee Stock Option (Right to Buy) 71.54 2012-12-05 4 A 0 52200 0.00 A 2013-12-05 2022-12-05 Common Stock 52200 52200 D Number of UNITS in the Ecolab Stock Fund of the Ecolab Savings Plan (401(k) Plan) as of November 30, 2012. (The 530.523 UNITS are the equivalent of approximtely 986 shares of the issuer's Common Stock.) 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. /s/ David F. Duvick, as Attorney-in-Fact for Thomas W. Handley 2012-12-07