During International Product Safety Week, June 16 to 20, a bi-annual meeting of government, industry, and consumer organizations, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and counterparts from 12 other countries and jurisdictions have teamed up to make button battery safety a global priority.
This past Tuesday, in Brussels, Belgium, CPSC representatives and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) discussed dangers associated with coin-size batteries, aka coin cell batteries. These are used in an increasing number of small electronics around the home, and are frequently left within a child’s reach. Incidents of young children and seniors unintentionally swallowing the batteries have resulted in thousands of reports of injuries worldwide.
CPSC reached out to battery manufacturers and is encouraged by recent efforts that have resulted in new safety warnings and packaging changes. CPSC is working with industry, public health officials, and the global community to continue the progress of preventing coin cell battery-related incidents.
Parents and caregivers, meanwhile, are urged to keep products containing these batteries away from children.
