Author Topic: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia  (Read 18433 times)

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Offline VK3DRBTopic starter

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Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« on: December 22, 2020, 10:49:50 am »
Coin cells (button batteries) have killed or seriously injured toddlers who swallow them. New laws are coming in to Australia which enforce button battery compartments to be sealed with a screw and packaging of the batteries to be improved. Great idea :clap:. But I fear that non-compliant product will still be imported in via eBay, just like the non-compliant radios and mains powered devices are today. Still it is a start. The article says it is a world first. It would be good if other countries followed.

Audio here...
https://www.3aw.com.au/australia-introduces-button-battery-standards-to-put-an-end-to-terrible-deaths-and-lifelong-injuries/

The dangers explained...
https://www.productsafety.gov.au/products/electronics-technology/button-batteries

« Last Edit: December 22, 2020, 11:06:36 am by VK3DRB »
 
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Offline David Hess

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2020, 06:37:18 pm »
A couple days ago I noticed that you can buy coin cells which are coated in a bitterant to make them taste bad.
 

Offline ratatax

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2020, 07:09:31 pm »
"one child a month"

Yeah so who cares. Natural selection. If we needed to prevent any misuse of any product everything would be forbidden, even spoons.
 
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Offline janoc

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #3 on: December 22, 2020, 07:10:24 pm »
What happened to the common sense of keeping small stuff that can be potentially swallowed away from the reach of your toddler? Are they going to legislate that also medicines and magnets must be kept in a locked safe (both can kill if swallowed) and clothing irons and hot water are to be totally verboten if there is a toddler in the household? What about knives? Do they also have to be all dull if there are kids around?

This is a pretty ridiculous answer to this problem, IMO.

 
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Offline richard.cs

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #4 on: December 22, 2020, 07:16:51 pm »
Pretty sure that screws on toy battery compartments (or at least a requirement to need a tool to open) has been in the CE requirements for years, so I'd expect a lot of manufacturers to already be doing it. I like the bitterant idea though.
 

Offline VK3DRBTopic starter

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #5 on: December 22, 2020, 10:15:17 pm »
"one child a month"

Yeah so who cares. Natural selection. If we needed to prevent any misuse of any product everything would be forbidden, even spoons.

Providing it is not YOUR child. The figures do not state the prevalence of injuries, which are much more common.
 
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Online ataradov

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2020, 10:23:27 pm »
I like the bitterant idea though.
When I was a kit, I used to chew the back parts of the pens. My parents tried to dip them in the pepper water. I personally liked them more that way :)

Generally, It is not the worst idea to have toys not have small pars that are easy to take apart. 

Yes, non-compliant stuff will still be imported, not much you can do here.
Alex
 

Offline VK3DRBTopic starter

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #7 on: December 22, 2020, 10:25:07 pm »
What happened to the common sense of keeping small stuff that can be potentially swallowed away from the reach of your toddler? Are they going to legislate that also medicines and magnets must be kept in a locked safe (both can kill if swallowed) and clothing irons and hot water are to be totally verboten if there is a toddler in the household? What about knives? Do they also have to be all dull if there are kids around?

This is a pretty ridiculous answer to this problem, IMO.

Many adults are basically stupid and ignorant, as is evident by the behaviour of many people to the spread of COVID, especially in certain countries who think it is their constitutional right to do whatever they want.

Coin cells are particularly bad...



 
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Offline tszaboo

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #8 on: December 22, 2020, 11:59:04 pm »
"one child a month"

Yeah so who cares. Natural selection. If we needed to prevent any misuse of any product everything would be forbidden, even spoons.
Nah, if would be a different story, if it would be 12 year olds.
There is a stage in children's development, where they experience the world by putting things into their mouth. It's better at feeling things than their hands. Freud and stuff.
Same way, I slow down and be careful about birds and cats on the road. They have no idea about the danger.
I care less about jaywalkers and cyclists who are breaking the rules. They all know it well what they are doing.
 
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Offline Someone

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2020, 01:18:28 am »
What happened to the common sense of keeping small stuff that can be potentially swallowed away from the reach of your toddler? Are they going to legislate that also medicines and magnets must be kept in a locked safe (both can kill if swallowed) and clothing irons and hot water are to be totally verboten if there is a toddler in the household? What about knives? Do they also have to be all dull if there are kids around?

This is a pretty ridiculous answer to this problem, IMO.
You joke, but hot water from the tap is legislated in Australia to be "warm water" for just this reason.:
https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/guides/hot-water-safety
With special lower limits for the very old and very young.

Owing to plumbers not wanting to run multiple hot water feeds within a house all outlets have the same temperature. This leads to people boiling water in a kettle when they want to do the washing with "hot" water.
 

Offline Rick Law

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #10 on: December 23, 2020, 02:15:33 am »
"one child a month"

Yeah so who cares. Natural selection. If we needed to prevent any misuse of any product everything would be forbidden, even spoons.
Nah, if would be a different story, if it would be 12 year olds.
There is a stage in children's development, where they experience the world by putting things into their mouth. It's better at feeling things than their hands. Freud and stuff.
Same way, I slow down and be careful about birds and cats on the road. They have no idea about the danger.
I care less about jaywalkers and cyclists who are breaking the rules. They all know it well what they are doing.

12 year old or 1 month old, it still would be natural selection - based on parental behavior.  Same as a tigress that would not feed the baby tiger, her gene is terminated.

Nature is more cold and efficient than modern human society...

From a financial stand point, you would be better off hitting an animal then trying to avoid one.  Say a deer for example; hitting a deer has lesser financial impact than having an accident while trying to avoid hitting an animal.  You hit a car, or a fence, or any other property while trying to avoid a deer, it is your fault and you are responsible for the damage.  Your insurance rate will reflect it by increased premium.  You hit the deer, it is no fault (at least in my State)...  Rare the deer's next-of-kin would take legal action.   If you run over a cyclist or jay walker, you would still be paying for it by increased premiums years later.
 

Offline Muttley Snickers

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #11 on: December 23, 2020, 03:24:20 am »
It seems that this topic comes up every few years but little if anything changes, a previous thread linked below. Our local Coles supermarket has all of the batteries including button cells on display not even 4 feet away from the lollies and chocolate bars, mummy I want a packet of the shiny ones.   :o ::) :P 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/don_t-swallow-coin-cells/

Edit: Added Image.

« Last Edit: December 23, 2020, 07:38:19 am by Muttley Snickers »
 
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Offline VK3DRBTopic starter

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #12 on: December 23, 2020, 03:41:29 am »
"one child a month"

Yeah so who cares. Natural selection. If we needed to prevent any misuse of any product everything would be forbidden, even spoons.

12 year old or 1 month old, it still would be natural selection - based on parental behavior.  Same as a tigress that would not feed the baby tiger, her gene is terminated.

Nature is more cold and efficient than modern human society...

From a financial stand point, you would be better off hitting an animal then trying to avoid one.  Say a deer for example; hitting a deer has lesser financial impact than having an accident while trying to avoid hitting an animal....

This reminds me of Dr. Groeteschele (Walter Matthau) from Fail Safe (1964) - my favourite movie.

It is probably a misquote that the tyrant Joseph Stalin once said: "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." In any case, a human trait is concern over death or injury diminishes with time and physical/cultural distance from the victims.

As for the coin cell bitter taste solution, if the batteries were sprayed with a bitterant, would that not create contact resistance issues?
 

Offline KaneTW

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #13 on: December 23, 2020, 04:31:04 am »
Pointless. This is not something that will ever have real benefit from regulation. Just extra nonsense for engineers and companies to keep track of.

As for bitterant, the amount you need will have less of an impact than the random oils on your skin from touching the battery.
 
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Offline Ed.Kloonk

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #14 on: December 23, 2020, 04:55:19 am »
That statistic would be much closer to the floor if more mothers stayed with their babies.
iratus parum formica
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #15 on: December 23, 2020, 04:56:27 am »
I hate those screwed shut battery compartments, I was just talking to my friend about that the other day, it had never occurred to me that it was some kind of a legal requirement. I also hate "child proof" packaging, what a joke, I still remember when I was about 4 years old my grandmother used to ask me to open her medication bottles for her because she had difficulty with the "child proof" caps while my small nimble hands could open them without difficulty.

It's easy to say "it would matter to you if it was your child" and yeah that might be true, but you have to look at the big picture. All manner of things around the house are hazardous to kids and it's a minor miracle that any of us make it to adulthood but we did, even with the much more lax safety requirements that we had when I was a kid. There is IMO far too much legislation intended to protect everyone from themselves and much of it brings unintended consequences. Useless feel-good legislation is a plague.
 
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Offline james_s

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #16 on: December 23, 2020, 05:01:36 am »
You joke, but hot water from the tap is legislated in Australia to be "warm water" for just this reason.:
https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/guides/hot-water-safety
With special lower limits for the very old and very young.

Owing to plumbers not wanting to run multiple hot water feeds within a house all outlets have the same temperature. This leads to people boiling water in a kettle when they want to do the washing with "hot" water.

Can you not just turn it up? My water heater has a line on the dial that says something to the effect of that being the recommended maximum temperature, however there is nothing stopping a person from turning it up much higher. I learned pretty quick when I was a young child not to turn the tap too far to the hot side because hot water is... hot.  :palm:
 

Offline Tom45

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #17 on: December 23, 2020, 05:07:16 am »
I learned to use a screwdriver before learned to use chopsticks.

Nothing stops a determined kid, or a grown up with equal curiosity.

At age 75 I still haven't learned to use chopsticks. I'm quite proficient with screwdrivers though.
 

Offline james_s

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #18 on: December 23, 2020, 05:10:33 am »
Neither have I, but I think if one grows up in China it's far more ingrained in the culture and something that most people learn from an early age.
 

Offline David Hess

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #19 on: December 23, 2020, 05:21:57 am »
I also hate "child proof" packaging, what a joke, I still remember when I was about 4 years old my grandmother used to ask me to open her medication bottles for her because she had difficulty with the "child proof" caps while my small nimble hands could open them without difficulty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrap_rage#Frustration_and_injuries

According to a British study, over 60,000 people receive hospital treatment each year due to injuries from opening food packaging.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that attempts to open packaging caused about 6,500 emergency department visits in the U.S. in 2004.

Before I received an injury which would require stitches, I started using tin snips to open bubble packaging which is much safer than a knife or scissors.
 

Offline Someone

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #20 on: December 23, 2020, 06:10:44 am »
You joke, but hot water from the tap is legislated in Australia to be "warm water" for just this reason.:
https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/consumers/guides/hot-water-safety
With special lower limits for the very old and very young.

Owing to plumbers not wanting to run multiple hot water feeds within a house all outlets have the same temperature. This leads to people boiling water in a kettle when they want to do the washing with "hot" water.
Can you not just turn it up? My water heater has a line on the dial that says something to the effect of that being the recommended maximum temperature, however there is nothing stopping a person from turning it up much higher. I learned pretty quick when I was a young child not to turn the tap too far to the hot side because hot water is... hot.  :palm:
They are separate to most water heaters (heaters integrate it) and similar to a gas regulator, possible to adjust but unlabelled and intentionally made difficult.
 

Offline Circlotron

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #21 on: December 23, 2020, 07:18:33 am »
"one child a month"

Yeah so who cares. Natural selection. If we needed to prevent any misuse of any product everything would be forbidden, even spoons.
Seeing we're talking about natural selection, next time you get sick, stick to your principles and don't go to the doctor. Stay home and die.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2021, 01:58:37 am by Circlotron »
 
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Offline tszaboo

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #22 on: December 23, 2020, 08:24:21 am »
"one child a month"

Yeah so who cares. Natural selection. If we needed to prevent any misuse of any product everything would be forbidden, even spoons.
Nah, if would be a different story, if it would be 12 year olds.
There is a stage in children's development, where they experience the world by putting things into their mouth. It's better at feeling things than their hands. Freud and stuff.
Same way, I slow down and be careful about birds and cats on the road. They have no idea about the danger.
I care less about jaywalkers and cyclists who are breaking the rules. They all know it well what they are doing.

12 year old or 1 month old, it still would be natural selection - based on parental behavior.  Same as a tigress that would not feed the baby tiger, her gene is terminated.

Nature is more cold and efficient than modern human society...
I dont know if you ever saw a 3-4 year old, but they can throw a glass cup (that they get a hold of somehow) on the floor, swallow a battery and run into the the side of a table in 20 seconds (an start crying). You literally won't notice it happening because you are picking up the shards, so they don't kill your child.

And if you think that: This one was dumb, I just make another one...
No you wont, you will be devastated, crying 20 years later on Christmas eve. These things stay with and ruin a family.
 
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Offline VK3DRBTopic starter

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #23 on: December 23, 2020, 09:20:49 am »
Here is the latest rule that appeared in the news today... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-23/sa-ban-of-single-use-plastics-and-straws-to-start-in-march/13009582 Plastic spoons, forks etc used at BBQs and parties will be banned in South Australia. McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken will be forced to comply. This legislation will undoubtedly spread nation wide.

Australia is a safe country to live in, partly because we have three levels of government, with more rules and regulations than any other country on earth. But at least we don't have the EU's ridiculous CE Radio Emissions Directive.
 

Offline richard.cs

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Re: Coin cell safety improvement a world first in Australia
« Reply #24 on: December 23, 2020, 10:25:44 am »
Owing to plumbers not wanting to run multiple hot water feeds within a house all outlets have the same temperature. This leads to people boiling water in a kettle when they want to do the washing with "hot" water.
We have something similar in the UK, but hot is piped everywhere, and then there are thermostatic mixers at point of use when needed, the kitchen sink is not one of those places.

When hot water is stored (as opposed to heated on demand) its actually required to be hot, at least 70C if I remember correctly. Legionella risk is seen to be higher than the scalding risk.
 
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