Should Products with Button Batteries Have Stricter Safety Rules?
Official title: Consultation: Comment period for the danger to human health or safety assessment for products containing button or coin batteries and the packaging of button and coin batteries
Health Canada wants to know if products containing button and coin batteries should meet stricter safety standards. These small, shiny batteries are a serious choking and poisoning hazard for young children. Products that don't meet the proposed safety criteria could be pulled from store shelves.
Why This Matters
Got kids or grandkids? Button batteries are in toys, remotes, watches, and hearing aids. If swallowed, they can cause severe internal burns within hours. This consultation could determine which products stay on shelves and which get pulled for safety reasons.
What Could Change
Products with button batteries that don't meet safety criteria could be banned from sale in Canada. This includes toys, electronics, and household items. Manufacturers may need to redesign battery compartments to be more child-resistant. Packaging requirements could also become stricter.
Key Issues
- Do the proposed safety criteria adequately protect children from button battery hazards?
- Should products that don't meet these safety standards be prohibited from sale?
- Are the packaging requirements for button and coin batteries sufficient?
How to Participate
- Read the danger to human health or safety assessment to understand the proposed safety criteria.
- Send your comments by email to ccpsa-lcspc@hc-sc.gc.ca by the deadline.
Key Documents
- Danger to Human Health or Safety Assessment for Button/Coin Batteries (opens in new tab)
- Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (opens in new tab)
- Information on Health Canada's Approach to General Prohibitions (opens in new tab)
- Industry Guidance - Danger to Human Health or Safety Posed by Consumer Products (opens in new tab)