NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Look around your house, chances are you've got toys and other household items powered by those tiny button-size batteries.
What you may not know is that they’re potentially deadly if swallowed.
There's a new law that is supposed to protect children and keep them out of their hands. But a new study has found that kids may still be at risk.
“If a child swallows one, it can become lodged in their esophagus, where it can actually burn a hole through the tissue and can be life-threatening in as little as two hours,” said Dr. Darria Long, MD, Board-Certified Emergency Room Doctor.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates there were more than 54,000 ER visits and at least 25 deaths attributed to button batteries from 2011 to 2021.
How do children get ahold of these dangerous batteries? Depending on the product, it’s not very hard. Consumer Reports recently evaluated 31 products that run on button batteries, and the results were alarming.
“We found that a third of the toys and household items that we looked at had button batteries that were dangerously accessible,” said Consumer Reports' Lauren Kirchner.
The battery compartments on these five products opened so easily—a child, or potentially even a baby, could access the batteries.
And the compartments on these five items also pose a risk because they were easily breakable.
The battery compartments on the other 21 products were safer.
Consumer Reports tried to contact the 10 companies for comment. All but one either couldn’t be reached or didn’t respond. LumaBase says their newer tealights have screws securing the battery compartments.
To keep your family safe, Consumer Reports says to look at the products around your house using button batteries.
“If you find anything in your home that takes button batteries and it has a battery compartment that pops open really easily with just like one hand—especially if you have kids or babies at home—it might be a good idea to just get rid of it,” Kirchner added.
Consumer Reports also recommends storing your batteries where kids can’t reach them.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at jennifer.kraus@newschannel5.com.
Breaking barriers and moving to the beat! One local dance company is making it possible for young people in wheelchairs to move and groove like everyone else. Good for your mental health, good for your physical health and good for your dose of positive news today. I hope you check out what they're doing!
-Rebecca Schleicher
