International Button Battery Awareness Day on June 12

International Button Battery Awareness Day was set up in the USA by Reese’s Purpose, after 17 month-old Reese Hamsmith died from a button battery lodged in her oesophagus. 

If a child swallows a button battery, even a used one, it can burn through soft tissue in just two hours causing horrendous internal injuries and even cause death. Car remotes, calculators, thermometers, musical greeting cards, flashing novelty goods and kitchen scales – button batteries are everywhere in a variety of objects in and around the home.

In Australia, an estimated 20 children per week present to a hospital emergency department suspected of having ingested or inserted a button battery and children aged 0-5 years are particularly vulnerable. Of these children, one child per month sustains a severe injury requiring a procedure to remove the battery or repair damage.

Regulations introduced in Australia in 2022 require child-resistant battery compartments on consumer products. But the regulations only deal with product that’s been sold since June 2022!

Button batteries have a long lifespan sp check all products including toys and remotes to ensure all button batteries are secured inside and can only be removed with two indepndent actions - ie a screw needing a screwdriver. Products containing button batteries that do not meet our regulations are still being sold - in Australia and online. So it is BUYER BEWARE.

Safe disposal of button batteries (and all batteries)

Wrap the battery with sticky-tape (to make it less likely to be swallowed by children, and potentially reduce the internal damage if swallowed); Store securely until taken for disposal (consider a product like BATTcycle); and Take to a designated disposal collection point.

Of course, the fewer products we buy that have button batteries, the less we need to rely on this kind of vigilance.