Associations need to act on button battery products
4 minute read
Any Australian business that supplies products that use small silver ‘button’ batteries – or supplies the batteries themselves - will need to comply with new mandatory safety standards under the Australian Consumer Law…
How safe are Ear buds?
4 minute read
"MAN GETS EAR BUD STUCK IN THROAT WHILE SLEEPING"
That seems like a surprising headline - but it’s a logical risk if you stop to think about it.
In product safety we always caution parents not to leave any loose…
Where would you be without compliance? Celebrate Compliance Officer Day
4 - minute read
Compliance Officer Day is celebrated on 26 September each year. This year it falls on a Saturday, so you might like to take a moment before then to acknowledge your product safety compliance manager and…
Farewell and thanks to a valued colleague – Martin Rushton
3 minute read
We will shortly see the retirement of a veteran consumer product safety colleague. I’d like to pay tribute to Martin Rushton, who has been the mainstay of New Zealand’s product safety agency for around 15 years. (He…
Button battery regulation, Australia
5 minute read
There’s three things that mark out button batteries as a critical product safety hazard – the severity of the injuries, the ongoing rate of those injuries and the breadth of exposure to the product.
Swallowing a…
Things to watch out for while the kids are stuck at home
3 minute read
Keeping the family
safe in isolation
When kids are
stuck indoors, they can get creative in how they keep themselves entertained. This
article highlights three known hazards around the home that parents and carers
need…
Netflix documentary – how cheap furniture is killing children – lessons for all
4 minute read
In a first for product safety, a new documentary exposes the story of how everyday household products can present unacceptable hazards.
Still from Broken, Episode 3
Episode 3 of the new US Netflix ‘docuseries’,…
New product safety laws being considered
3 minute read
What changes are
needed in Australian consumer policy to improve product safety?
A Treasury consultation paper discussing a series of options to improve the current consumer product safety system is currently out for…
Button battery hazard – Size does matter!
4-minute read
A few questions have been raised on the actual danger posed by small and medium button batteries. Some misconceptions have been circulating about:
how dangerous they are, how the body responds, andthe type of treatment…
Button batteries – what can be done? Plenty.
Much more can be done in the immediate term to address the hazard presented by button batteries, as listed below. But let's start with some background.
There's no doubt that the button battery hazard is a complex problem. However it…