US President Signs New Safety Law for Button Cell and Coin Batteries

A look at how Reese’s Law will affect manufacturers and suppliers of button cell and coin batteries and products that contain them. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) September 14, 2022 - SGS, the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company, is advising consumer product’s manufacturers and suppliers operating in the US that President Biden has signed Reese’s law (H.R.5313), enacting Public Law 117-171.

Public Law 117-171 requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish product safety standards relating to batteries that pose an ingestion hazard – button cell and coin batteries. Under the terms of the law, whether they are sold separately or included separately with a product, they must conform to federal child-resistant packaging rules.

Named after Reese Hamsmith, an 18-month-old who died two months after swallowing a button battery, the law seeks to “protect children and other consumers against hazards associated with the accidental ingestion of button cell or coin batteries by requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to promulgate a consumer product safety standard to require child-resistant closures on consumer products that use such batteries, and for other purposes.”

The CPSC is required to establish a product safety standard within one year of the enactment date. It must include performance criteria to ensure button cell or coin battery compartments in a consumer product are secured in a manner that would eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of ingestion and subsequent injury. It concerns children aged six and under and considers reasonably foreseeable use and misuse conditions by children of this age group.

It also makes provision for requirements relating to warning labels that should be included on the packaging of button cell or coin batteries and the packaging of a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries; or a warning label to be included in any literature, such as a user manual, that accompanies a consumer product containing such batteries.

This should clearly:
• Identify the hazard of ingestion
• Instruct consumers, as practicable, to keep new and used batteries out of the reach of children, and to seek immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested

Stakeholders are advised to ensure they remain up to date with legislation relating to the packaging for button cells and coin batteries in the US.

SGS Battery Testing Services
SGS helps companies deliver well-designed, functional, durable and safe products to their customers. They have the electrical and electronic industry regulatory and technical expertise to provide testing services for abuse, benchmarking, durability, electrical, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), environmental, life cycle analysis, performance, safety standards and transportation on cells, batteries and modules. In the end, it’s trusted because it’s tested. Learn more about SGS’s Battery Testing Services. [www.sgs.com/en/services/battery-testing]
SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full H.R. 5313, “Reese’s Law,” Establishing Safety Standards for Button Cell and Coin Batteries Signed SafeGuardS. [www.sgs.com/en/news/2022/09/safeguards-10322-hr-5313-reeses-law-establishing-safety-standards-for-button-cell-and-coin-batteries-signed]

Subscribe here, www.sgs.com/subscribesg, to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Sanjeev Gandhi
Deputy Vice President
Tel: +1 (973)-461-7924
Email: crs.media ( @ ) sgs dot com
Website: www.sgs.com/ee
LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

About SGS
We are SGS – the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification company. We are recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. Our 96,000 employees operate a network of 2,600 offices and laboratories, working together to enable a better, safer and more interconnected world.

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