Safety alert: Button batteries

Is your service button battery safe?

Recent button battery scares at multiple Queensland services are a timely reminder that you can never be too careful when it comes to protecting children from these shiny, tiny and dangerous items.

Swallowing a button or coin battery can cause serious internal burns or death. Inserting one of these batteries into an ear or nose can cause significant injury in as little as 2 hours.

Protect children from the harm button batteries cause

Under the National Law, approved providers must take all reasonable precautions to protect children from harm and from hazards likely to cause injury.

Mandatory product safety regulations also require button battery operated products to:

• be durable and drop resistant (similar to requirements in the toy standards)
• have child resistant button battery compartments—ones that cannot be opened by twisting, chewing or prising and require a tool to open, or 2 simultaneous but different movements to unlock the compartment.

All lithium button batteries and non-lithium button batteries greater than 16mm in size must be sold in child resistant packaging that individually stores each battery.

The following steps may assist your service enhance its policy and procedure for providing a child safe environment and mitigate the risks posed by button batteries.

Reduce the number of products powered by button batteries

• Avoid buying products powered by button batteries.
• Replace products powered by button batteries with alternative items which are rechargeable or powered by cylinder batteries or the sun.
• Rechargeable products that contain inaccessible button batteries still need to be drop resistant and durable.
• Restrict children and families from bringing items containing button batteries (except for required medical aids such as hearing aids or glucometers that are essential to health and learning) onto your premises.
• Have a process to keep essential button battery operated products in a secure but staff accessible location for emergencies.
• Let families know about this restriction when they enrol and remind them regularly throughout their attendance.
• Proactively check for compliance.

Identify which products have button batteries

Label products with button batteries 'Keep out of reach of children'.

• Keep a register of products powered by button batteries, including children’s hearing aids or glucometers.
• Regularly check the service for any unregistered button batteries. Keep records of these safety checks.

Buy safe products

• If you must buy a product powered by button batteries, only buy products that
• are secured with a child-resistant locking mechanism
• require a screwdriver or tool to open the battery compartment, or require 2 simultaneous but different movements to open the compartment.
• Buy new button batteries in child-resistant packaging—that is, with packaging that needs to be opened with scissors.
• Button battery products should be robust enough to be dropped without breaking.

Safely store spare button batteries

• Keep spare batteries in a locked cupboard, drawer or filling cabinet that is out of reach of children.

When replacing button batteries

• Replace in a secure location where children do not have access. Keep the product and batteries contained so they can’t roll away.

Dispose of flat or unused batteries correctly

• Spent or flat batteries remain dangerous, so remove them safely from your centre.
• Cover batteries in sticky tape, place in a tied plastic bag and take to a local recycling collection point such as your local council (council websites often list additional disposal places); Planet Ark; Coles, Woolworths or Aldi supermarkets; or Battery World.

Teach children, families and colleagues about the dangers

• Incorporate button battery safety concepts in the curriculum.
• Outline the danger of button batteries to families. Share the following information
• Take charge of button batteries around your home poster (PDF, 631KB) (Kidsafe and Queensland Government)
• Teach children not to touch/handle button batteries and to alert an adult (e.g. parent, relative or educator) if and when they see one.
• Outline your service’s button battery restrictions to families when they enrol and remind them regularly throughout their attendance.
• Outline the danger of button batteries in your family and team handbooks.

Recognise the signs and symptoms of button battery ingestion

Early signs/symptoms:

• Blue dye on hands, mouth (Energizer have developed new 20mm batteries that releases blue dye on contact with water)
• An episode of gagging or choking (the battery may have been swallowed)
• Drooling
• Chest pain (may present as grunting)
• Coughing or noisy breathing
• Unexplained vomiting or food refusal
• Abdominal pain
• General discomfort

Later signs/symptoms:

• Bleeding from gut—black/red vomit/bowel motions
• Nose bleeds—sometimes this can be blood vomited through the nose
• Unexplained fever
• Spitting blood or blood-stained saliva
• Bloody discharge from ear or nose

Sources

• Button batteries (Kidsafe);
• Button batteries (Product Safety Australia [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission])
• Button batteries (Queensland Government)
• Safety: Button batteries (The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne)
• Education and Care Services National Law (Queensland) Act 2010 (PDF, 1.8MB)—refer to section 167, offence relating to protection of children from harm and hazards

Related information

• ACCC welcomes safety and information standards for button batteries (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
• Button and coin batteries (Product Safety Australia, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
• Button batteries (Queensland Gov​ernment)