Mountain Equipment Co-op, Canada’s largest outdoor-goods retailer, has yanked Nalgene bottles and other polycarbonate plastic containers from its shelves, concerned about toxic bisphenol A leaching from the plastic. MEC — the Canadian equivalent of U.S.-based retailer REI — has been one of Canada’s largest sellers of the bottles. Canada’s health agency is currently studying the risk posed by bisphenol A, and will comment on its research in May 2008; dependent on the outcome of that review, MEC may reinstate polycarbonate plastic Nalgenes to its stores.
