The Toy Association Applauds Next Step Forward for Battery Safety Law Safeguarding Children

button-batteryMay 11, 2022 | The Toy Association lauds the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s decision to advance key battery safety legislation to the Senate floor for a final vote. Reese’s Law will direct the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish mandatory standards for common household products to protect children from the dangers posed by small button and coin-size batteries, which align with long-standing toy safety standards for batteries.

While all toys sold in the U.S. have long had safety standards that require a locking mechanism on the battery compartment to prevent children's access to batteries, other household items that are easily accessible to children (remote controls, clocks, watches, bathroom scales, etc.) have not been subject to these same strict safety standards. The legislation, introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), seeks to change that.

The Toy Association has been advocating on the issue for several years and is pleased to join the bill sponsors in support of their legislation that seeks to apply the toy industry model for battery safety to other products common in children’s environments. Last fall, Joan Lawrence, senior vice president of standards & regulatory affairs at The Toy Association and chair of the ASTM standards committee, testified before the Senate about battery safety and other product safety concerns.

“Safety remains the No. 1 priority of The Toy Association and its members, and the passage of this important piece of bipartisan legislation is just one more critical step in ensuring children everywhere can safely play in their everyday environments,” said Lawrence. “We are pleased to see the bill align with existing toy safety standards for batteries and look forward to offering our assistance to the CPSC as it looks to put these safety regulations into action.”

Once passed by Congress, the legislation will require CPSC to ensure that all consumer products that use button cell or coin-size batteries adhere to the following battery safety standards:

  • a warning label instructing consumers to keep the batteries out of the reach of children,
  • a battery compartment that prevents access to the batteries by children who are under age 6, and
  • if sold separately or included separately with a product, such batteries must comply with federal child-resistant packaging regulations.

The law was named in honor of 18-month-old Reese Hamsmith, who passed away in December 2020 after swallowing a button battery.

Click here to read The Toy Association’s official statement on button cell batteries.