BILL NUMBER:  S2085

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the general business law, in
relation to requiring warnings on certain lithium batteries and
products containing such batteries

 PURPOSE :

Requires lithium batteries of less than one inch in diameter and
products containing such batteries to be labeled with warnings
thereto.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends section 490-c of the general business law adding a
new subdivision 3 all predictions sold in New York State which utilize
lithium batteries of less than one inch in diameter shall be packaged
with a warning label that reads "WARNING: This product is powered by a
lithium battery. Due to their small size, lithium batteries can easily
be swallowed by children. Ingestion of such batteries has been known
to cause death."

A new subdivision 4 of section 490-c of the general business law
states all lithium batteries of less than one inch in diameter sold in
this state, or used in products sold in this state, shall have printed
upon them the following language "WARNING: This is a lithium battery,
              

which if swallowed has been known to cause death."

Section 2 states the Department of Health shall promulgate any rules
and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

Section 3 establishes an effective date on the one hundredth eightieth
day after it shall have become law.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Button sized lithium batteries are often found in many products that
area appealing to children including musical greeting cards,
calculators, hearing aids, remote controls, small LED flashlights,
talking children's books, laptops and I PADS, remote car keys,
watches, various electronic toys, some magnets, various video games,
solar or electronic candles small PDA devices and digital thermometers
just to name a few. Due to their small size and shiny nature, these
tiny batteries are often appealing to a young child's eye, often
mimicking candies and can easily fit into small mouths.  Research
recently published by the Journal of Pediatrics suggests that life
threatening circumstances via ingestion by small children is an
increasingly common problem. There have been more than 65,000
emergency department visits involving kids who had ingested batteries
over the past 20 years, 40,000 of those cases occurring from
1997-2010.

If a lithium battery stays lodged in the esophagus for more than two
hours, the battery can erode through the soft tissue of the esophagus
and cause a hole, which can lead to internal bleeding and prove to be
fatal, with death occurring merely hours after ingestion. Children who
survive often face serious health issues such as permanent paralysis
of the vocal chords and can burn through the cartilage in the nose or
inner ear, causing hearing lost and difficulty breathing.  The
National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C. has done extensive
research and a 1985-2009 study found a seven-fold increase in the
percentage of button battery ingestions with major or fatal outcomes.

Often times, ingestion of these batteries goes entirely unnoticed by a
caregiver and by the time a medical team makes the discovery, it can
be too late. Children may vomit, refuse food, become listless and
develop a fever or cough. Children under four years of age are at the
greatest risk, because these batteries can often appear "invisible" to
parents because devices come with the batteries already installed.
X-rays are essential for a diagnosis and should include the child's
entire body from the nose to the rectum.

The most recent death was that of two year old Brianna Florer, who
lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She died on December 28, 2015, three days
after having swallowed a button sized lithium battery. Doctors told
the family the battery lodged in Brianna's esophagus and caused her to
bleed badly. Surgeons tried, but couldn't stop the bleeding. The
family says there were no signs of any issues until Brianna started
throwing up blood the night of December 27th.

The National Consumer Product Safety Commission warns against keeping
these dangerous batteries from within reach of small children.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-16: S.7230/A.9959 Referred to Consumer Protection.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the State.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundredth eightieth day after it
shall have become law.