Citation

Babiak M, Cooper P. Inj. Prev. 2012; 18(Suppl 1): A29.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040580c.20

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Background Upon seeing a shift in severity of injuries associated with lithium coin cell battery ingestions, Energiser sought to understand the mechanism of injury with the ingestion of these battery types through experimentation. Upon understanding the mechanism of injury and why the response for lithium coin cell batteries is different than that for other battery chemistries, Energiser communicated this understanding to the overall battery industry and U.S. medical community and started work in five areas.

Aims/Objectives/Purpose Communicate the technical explanation of the mechanism behind the injury to a global audience and present work-to-date on the five areas.

Methods Energiser's work to-date focuses on five areas: (1) warning copy, (2) battery compartment design, (3) packaging, (4) battery design and (5) communication and outreach.

Results/Outcomes Injury occurs due to hydrolysis and generation of high pH and solutions that may minimise or eliminate the risk of injury following ingestion.

Significance/Contribution to the Field Provides root-cause analysis to facilitate hazard reduction.

This is an abstract of a presentation at Safety 2012, the 11th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 1-4 October 2012, Michael Fowler Center, Wellington, New Zealand. Full text does not seem to be available for this abstract.