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TEXT FOURTEEN A line ofwater bottles that had become a symbol of environmental responsibility has beenremoved from the shelves of Canadas leading outdoor gear retailerover concerns about a chemical used in its manufacture. The MountainEquipment Co-op, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, removed thebottles, sold under the brand name Nalgene, and other polycarbonate containersfrom its 11 large-scale stores on Wednesday. The retailer said that it wouldnot restock the bottles, which are made by Nalge Nunc International inRochester, a unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific, until Health Canada completed areview of bisphenol-a, or B.P.A., a chemical used to make hard, transparentplastics as well as liners for food cans. Weve been following the B.P.A. issuefor at least three years, said Tim Southam, a spokesman for Mountain Equipment. The decision weve taken this week does not meanthat polycarbonate products will never return to our stores. Were just seeking some certaintyabout this chemical. Church andenvironmental groups in Canada have mounted campaigns against bottled waterbecause of concerns about the huge amount of plastic used in containers. As aresult, the reusable Nalgene bottles have become ubiquitous on college campusesand elsewhere. Polycarbonateplastic, which can only be produced by using B.P.A., creates bottles that aretransparent and almost as hard as glass, but particularly shatter-resistant. Recently,however, the use of B.P.A.-based plastics in food containers has beenquestioned in Canada by Environmental Defence , a Toronto-based group.Environmentalists in the United States are also raising concerns about thechemical. Last year, San Franciscos board of governors passed alocal law banning the use of the chemical in childrens products. B.P.A. was removedfrom the ordinance before it went into effect, however, after an industrylawsuit. Critics point to studies dating back to 1936 showing that the chemicalcan disrupt the hormonal system. | 
