Consumer Watch with Kevin Collard: What to do and know to avoid your child falling victim to button batteries

These days, stimulating toys are all about interactivity, lights and movement. To activate, a button-sized battery generally needs to be inserted, but if swallowed by a child it has the power to cause severe injury in less than two hours and can even kill. Button batteries are a small power source used not just for toys but for an increasing number of common household items such as remote controls, watches, clocks and hearing aids. A University of Sydney-led research study showed batteries 20mm or more in diameter are the most dangerous. They are small enough to be easily swallowed but not small enough to reliably pass through a child’s throat. What happens next will shock you, literally. An electrical current is immediately triggered by saliva, causing a chemical reaction to cause severe burns to the child’s throat and major internal organs within as little as two hours and the results can be fatal. The study, which examined more than 400 cases of button battery injuries and fatalities worldwide, shows while Australia has introduced the world’s first mandatory safety standards with child-resistant packaging, the industry still needs to do more. Once the packaging is open there is a vital need for safe storage, safe use and safe disposal of batteries. When buying button battery-operated products, parents should look for products where the battery compartment can’t be opened without the use of a tool. If the compartment is not securely fastened with a screw or similar fastener, the product may not comply and could be added to the product recall list. Even when old, or used, button batteries can still be a threat, so safely dispose of them by wrapping them in sticky tape and putting them in a child-resistant container, out of reach of children until you can recycle them safely. Recycle collection points can be found at www.bcycle.com.au. If you suspect a child has swallowed a button battery do not let the child eat or drink and do not induce vomiting. Immediately call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 for additional treatment information. Parents can check the product recall list for items with button batteries on the Product Safety Australia website: https://www.productsafety.gov.au/recalls. If parents spot non-compliant button batteries or devices containing them on shop shelves, report them to Consumer Protection at consumer@demirs.wa.gov.au or call 1300 30 40 54. For more information about button battery safety, guides and disposal see Consumerprotection.wa.gov.au Kevin Collard is a senior regional officer for Consumer Protection