CPSC Proposes New Rules Regulating Batteries in Kids’ Toys

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently released a detailed proposal and is seeking comments for new regulations governing button cell and coin batteries in toys intended for children under 14 years of age. Following up on Reese’s Law, which was passed in August 2022, this proposal seeks to address the risk of injury caused by children ingesting button cell or coin cell batteries by adding labeling and performance requirements to children’s toys that use the batteries. According to CPSC, “The proposed requirements would provide the highest level of safety feasible.”

Button cell and coin cell batteries are small, disposable, single-cell batteries that range from 5 mm to 32 mm in diameter. Because of their small size, button cell and coin cell batteries pose various hazards to children, namely a potential ingestion hazard. A 2022 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that cell batteries prompted over 70,000 emergency room visits for children between 2010 and 2019. Ninety percent of those visits occurred after a child ingested a cell battery.

If a toy’s battery compartment breaks apart or is unintentionally opened, children can access and potentially ingest the battery. CPSC’s proposal seeks to make children’s toys safer by addressing this risk through labeling and testing requirements.

Toys intended for children six years old and younger and that contain button cell and coin cell batteries are already heavily regulated by Reese’s Law, signed into law on August 16, 2022. But Reese’s Law excludes from its scope children’s toys that are subject to 16 CFR § 1250—a regulation that adopted the safety standards for toys intended for use by children under age 14 contained in ASTM F963. According to CPSC, ASTM F963 does not establish adequate requirements for toys containing button cell or coin cell batteries because it fails to address all identified hazards and is not as stringent as requirements for non-toy consumer products. Therefore, CPSC argues more regulation is required for toys with cell batteries. CPSC claims that its proposed regulation would fill in this gap.

CPSC proposes to add a myriad of performance and labeling requirements for toys containing button cell or coin cell batteries. For example, CPSC seeks to improve the durability of battery compartments by requiring sequential use and abuse testing by manufacturers. CPSC envisions that this testing will include stress relief, battery replacement, impact, crush, torque, tension, compression, and compliance verification tests.

CPSC notes that if the regulation is finalized, “small manufacturers would incur a one-time redesign cost and continuous component costs . . . to comply with the rule for product lines that currently do not meet the proposed requirements . . . . CPSC does not expect small firms to incur a cost that exceeds 1 percent of the annual revenue of the firm (nor 1 percent of the retail price of the product).”

If passed, the proposed regulation would impose a broad set of testing, packaging, and labeling requirements on manufacturers of toys containing button cell or coin cell batteries. Companies would need to come into compliance with the new law within six months of its passage.