SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Reese's Law was enacted to protect children six years old and younger against hazards associated with the ingestion of button cell or coin batteries during reasonably foreseeable use or misuse conditions. 15 U.S.C. 2056e(a)(1). Section 5 of Reese's Law broadly defines a “button cell or coin battery” as “(A) a single cell battery with a diameter greater than the height of the battery; or (B) any other battery, regardless of the technology used to produce an electrical charge, that is determined by the Commission to pose an ingestion hazard.” Notes to 15 U.S.C. 2056e.

Section 2(a)(2) of Reese's Law mandates that the Commission establish, by rulemaking, warning label requirements for consumer products containing button cell or coin batteries, and for packaging of button cell or coin batteries. The warning labels required by section 2(a)(2) of Reese's Law must: (1) clearly identify the hazard of ingestion; and (2) instruct consumers, as practicable, to keep new and used batteries out of the reach of children, to seek immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested, and to follow any other consensus medical advice. 15 U.S.C. 2056e(b).

Under this authority, the Commission issued a mandatory safety rule that incorporates by reference ANSI/UL 4200A, Standard for Safety for Products Incorporating Button Batteries or Coin Cell Batteries, approved on August 30, 2023 (UL 4200A-2023), with additional requirements, codified at 16 CFR part 1263 (88 FR 65274 (September 21, 2023) and 88 FR 65296 (September 21, 2023)). This mandatory standard includes performance requirements and test procedures, as well as requirements for warning labels and instructions, to address the ingestion hazard associated with button cell or coin batteries and consumer products containing such products.

Section 2(f) of Reese's Law specifies the process for when a voluntary standards organization revises a standard that the Commission previously had incorporated by reference under section 2(e). First, the voluntary standards organization must notify the Commission of the revision. Once the Commission receives this notification, the Commission may reject or accept the revised standard in whole or in part. To reject a revised standard, the Commission must notify the voluntary standards organization within 90 days of receiving the notice of ( printed page 56605) revision that the revised voluntary standard, in whole or in part, does not improve the safety of the consumer product covered by the standard and that the Commission is retaining all or part of the existing consumer product safety standard. If the Commission does not take this action, the revised voluntary standard will be considered a consumer product safety standard issued under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) (15 U.S.C. 2058), effective 180 days after the Commission received notification of the revision (or a later date specified by the Commission in the Federal Register ). 15 U.S.C. 2056e(f)(2).

On August XX, 2026, UL notified the Commission that it had approved and published a revised version of the voluntary standard, UL 4200A-2026. CPSC is assessing the revised voluntary standard to determine, consistent with section 2(f) of Reese's Law, its effect on the safety of button cell or coin batteries and consumer products containing such products subject to 16 CFR part 1263. The Commission invites public comment to inform CPSC staff's assessment and subsequent Commission consideration of the revisions in UL 4200A-2026.

UL 4200A-2026 is copyrighted. UL 4200A-2026 is available for review in several ways. A read-only copy of the revised standard UL 4200A-2026, is available to view at no cost, on UL's website at https://www.ulstandards.com/​IBR/​logon.aspx. Additionally, interested parties can purchase a copy of the UL standard from UL, 151 Eastern Avenue, Bensenville, IL 60106, Telephone: 1-888-853-3503 or online at: http://ulstandards.ul.com/​. Finally, interested parties can schedule an appointment to inspect a copy of the standard at CPSC's Office of the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, telephone: 301-504-7479; email: cpsc-os@cpsc.gov.

Comments must be received by September 17, 2026. Because of the short statutory time frame Congress established for the Commission to consider revised voluntary standards under section 2(f) of Reese's Law, CPSC will not consider comments received after this date.