USA: Amendments to the Reese Law for the button call batteries in toys.

 

USA has published Safety Standard for Toys: Requirements for Toys Containing Button Cell or Coin Cell Batteries. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) proposes to address the risk of injury and death associated with children ingesting button cell or coin cell batteries obtained from toys by adding performance and labeling requirements for battery-operated toys containing such batteries. The proposed requirements would provide the highest level of safety feasible, and are consistent with the Commission’s recent Reese’s Law rulemaking and international standards for electronic toys. The Commission also proposes to amend CPSC’s list of notice of requirements (NORs) to include toys containing button cell or coin cell batteries.

In 2008, Congress enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), granting the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enhanced regulatory and enforcement powers, particularly aimed at ensuring children’s safety. Among its provisions, section 106(a) of the CPSIA mandated that ASTM International’s voluntary toy safety standard, ASTM F963–07, officially become a mandatory standard 180 days after the CPSIA’s enactment, specifically on February 10, 2009. This standard is outlined in 15 U.S.C. 2056b(a). Additionally, section 106 requires the CPSC to establish stricter toy safety standards if they are deemed necessary to further reduce injury risks, and to periodically review and update these rules to ensure they provide the highest feasible level of safety (15 U.S.C. 2056b(c) and (d)).

The CPSIA designates ASTM F963 as a consumer product safety standard issued under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA; 15 U.S.C. 2058). Since 2009, the CPSC has enforced ASTM F963 as a mandatory toy safety standard. In 2017, the CPSC codified this standard in 16 CFR part 1250, Safety Standard Mandating ASTM F963 for Toys, incorporating the then-current ASTM F963–16 standard by reference. Most recently, on January 18, 2024, the CPSC updated part 1250 to include the 2023 revision, ASTM F963–23 (89 FR 3344). Some toys governed by ASTM F963 and 16 CFR part 1250 contain or are designed to use button cell or coin cell batteries. Therefore, section 4.25 of ASTM F963–23 includes specific requirements for “battery-operated toys,” addressing hazards such as battery overheating, leakage, explosion, fire, and the risk of children choking on or swallowing batteries.

The 2023 revisions to ASTM F963 have enhanced safety measures for toys with button cell or coin cell batteries, including expanded testing and labeling requirements to improve battery accessibility safety. However, as discussed in section IV of this preamble, ASTM F963–23 does not fully address all identified hazards related to button cell or coin cell batteries, and its requirements are not as stringent as those established for non-toy consumer products under 16 CFR part 1263, Safety Standard for Button Cell or Coin Batteries and Consumer Products Containing Such Batteries.

To find out more about product compliance for button cell or coin call batteries, please contact the Product Compliance Institute directly.