Walmart knew about explosion risk in bottles for 7 years before recall

It sounded like Walmart was moving quickly.

The retailer said last month the public should immediately stop using its Ozark Trail 64-ounce stainless-steel water bottles because the plastic lid “can forcefully eject,” which led to three injuries, including to two people who said they were partially blinded by flying bottle caps. Walmart said it voluntarily decided to stop selling the product and was offering $15 refunds to remove the 850,000 bottles already on the market, according to a July 10 notice posted on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website.

“The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority,” the company said in a statement that traveled widely across social media.

But this was not a new problem, according to a review of CPSC documents and lawsuits.

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