October 2016: Quick update on our battery campaign: after talking to technologists, it's come to our attention that the new technology that would keep kids safe is not yet market ready. But we also know that the way to get it to market is for huge battery companies like Duracell to support the tech development.
The battery industry likely could have solved this problem long ago, but they clearly haven't invested enough into it.
We need bold action from battery companies like Duracell to start to change things. There's a great solution, making slow but steady progress out there. At SumOfUs, we maintain that if the battery industry were to support these efforts, we could solve this problem once and for all.
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Fifteen minutes. That’s how long a single button battery takes to burn through the throat of a toddler.
Small lithium button batteries, used in toys, watches and remotes, are easily swallowed and can kill children -- or leave them unable to speak or eat without help for the rest of their lives.
As a huge market leader, Duracell can stop this. Engineers invented safe button batteries years ago, but Duracell is still refusing to switch to them. Instead, it is passing responsibility onto parents, telling them to be careful. A massive public outcry can force Duracell to act now so this never happens again.
Duracell: switch to safe button batteries now.
Children are naturally curious and put household objects in their mouths. But here is the scary thing: the energy from the battery make the body create an acid that can burn a hole through the throat and lead to serious internal bleeding and death.
And it takes as little as 15 minutes.
Hospitals are reporting a surge in button battery incidents, and that's why we need to force Duracell to act now.
Duracell makes enough profit that it can afford to switch to safer technology immediately. It is not enough to use warning stickers or to tell parents to use sticky tape to seal batteries. Duracell has to take responsibility for its dangerous, child-harming batteries now.
Demand Duracell stop ignoring the dangers and switch to safe button batteries.
More information
Lithium Coin Battery Safety
Duracell. 26 September 2016.
Duracell. 26 September 2016.
Keep button batteries away from children, doctors warn parents
The Guardian. 22 September 2016.
The Guardian. 22 September 2016.
Button batteries pose 'deadly' risk to toddlers
BBC. 22 September 2016.
BBC. 22 September 2016.