Battery Replacement / Sheet 01
General information, not medical advice. The official places to check are ACCC Product Safety and the Poisons Information Centre.
Sheet 01 · Cell A in sectionButton batteries and children
A swallowed button battery can lodge in a child’s throat and cause serious injury in as little as two hours, so it is an emergency even before there are symptoms. Australia has four mandatory standards for button batteries and the products that hold them, covering how they are designed, tested, packaged and labelled.
If you think a child has swallowed or inserted one
Children often cannot tell you that they have swallowed a button battery or pushed one into an ear or nose. The ACCC’s advice is to act on suspicion, not certainty:
- If the child is bleeding or having any difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000) immediately.
- Otherwise call the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 immediately, at any hour. It can direct you to a suitable medical facility; not every health facility can manage these injuries.
- Do not wait for symptoms. Do not let the child eat or drink. Do not make them vomit.
- If you suspect a battery has been swallowed or inserted, ask a hospital emergency department for an X-ray.
Triple Zero (000): bleeding or any difficulty breathing.
Poisons Information Centre 13 11 26: 24/7 advice.
Why a small battery does so much harm
Once a button battery is lodged in the throat, saliva triggers an electrical current and a chemical reaction. The ACCC describes the result as severe burns to the oesophagus and to organs such as the arteries, lungs, heart, larynx and spine, and says the damage can continue even after the battery is removed. Repairing it may take several operations and treatment over many years.
Three children have died in Australia in incidents involving button batteries, and many more have been seriously injured. Children up to 5 years old are at greatest risk, because of their narrower oesophagus and their habit of putting small things in their mouths, ears and noses.
All button batteries are dangerous, but the size most commonly behind the damage is about 2 cm wide, the size of a 10 cent piece. Lithium cells carry the highest risk: they are usually larger, so more likely to lodge, and their higher voltage damages tissue faster.
Signs that may follow
The advice is to call before symptoms appear. If a child does show symptoms, the ACCC lists these among them:
- gagging or choking, drooling, or coughing and noisy breathing
- chest pain, which can show as grunting
- unexplained vomiting, food refusal or fever
- black or red vomit or bowel motions, nose bleeds, or blood-stained saliva
- abdominal pain or general discomfort
- a bloody discharge from an ear or the nose.
The ACCC names remote controls, watches, calculators, torches, fitness devices, musical greeting cards, digital scales and home medical devices such as thermometers, and children’s toys that light up, make sounds or move. The NSW Poisons Information Centre adds hearing aids and flameless candles.
The four mandatory standards
There are four: two safety standards and two information standards, one of each for the batteries themselves and one of each for the products that contain them. Together they say how batteries, products and packaging must be designed and tested, and what warnings and safety information must come with them.
| Standard | Applies to | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Button and coin batteries safety standard | The batteries | Safety |
| Button and coin batteries information standard | The batteries | Information: warning labels on the batteries and their packaging |
| Products containing button and coin batteries safety standard | Goods that use, are powered by or work with them | Safety |
| Products containing button and coin batteries information standard | Goods that use, are powered by or work with them | Information |
What a pack of button batteries must show
The information standard does not set exact wording, but the packaging warning must include:
- an alert word in capitals, such as WARNING, DANGER or CAUTION
- an internationally recognised safety alert symbol, and a “keep out of reach of children” symbol
- a statement of the hazard and to keep the batteries away from children
- for lithium batteries, a statement that, in the ACCC’s words, “the battery can cause severe or fatal injuries within 2 hours if swallowed or placed inside any part of the body”
- for non-lithium batteries, a statement that, in the ACCC’s words, “the battery can cause serious injuries if swallowed or placed inside any part of the body”
- advice to seek medical attention if you suspect a battery has been swallowed or placed inside the body.
Lithium button and coin batteries 20 mm or more across must also carry the “keep out of reach of children” symbol on each battery.
Batteries supplied in bulk to trades that are not sold to the public are outside them, and hearing aids and their zinc-air batteries need only follow the information standard. The standards also set no rules for disposing of or recycling batteries. They do cover second-hand goods sold to consumers.
Keeping them out of reach
Look at the compartment
Choose products with a child-resistant battery compartment and warning labels, even from a seller you trust, and replacement batteries in child-resistant packaging. If you buy online, check the compartment when the parcel arrives.
Store high, check often
Keep new and used batteries out of sight and reach: a lock box, a secure cupboard or a high shelf. Check regularly that toys and devices are not damaged, because a battery can come loose from a broken product.
On a flat surface, then tape
Change batteries on a flat surface away from children, so none rolls away. Put sticky tape around both sides of a spent battery straight away, keep it in a child-resistant container, and take it to a drop-off point.
Ask four questions
Does it contain button batteries? Has it been recalled? Does it come with its instructions? Are all its parts in good working order?
If a product you bought does not meet the mandatory standard, or is unsafe, you can report it to the ACCC.