Interpretation of New Regulations on Button Cells in North American,
North American,

▍BSMI Introduction Introduction of BSMI certification

BSMI is short for Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, established in 1930 and called National Metrology Bureau at that time. It is the supreme inspection organization in Republic of China in charge of the work on national standards, metrology and product inspection etc. The inspection standards of electrical appliances in Taiwan are enacted by BSMI. Products are authorized to use BSMI marking on the conditions that they are in compliance with safety requirements, EMC testing and other related tests.

Electrical appliances and electronic products are tested according to the following three schemes: type-approved (T), registration of product certification(R) and declaration of conformity (D).

▍What is the standard of BSMI?

On 20 November 2013, it is announced by BSMI that from 1^st, May 2014, 3C secondary lithium cell/battery, secondary lithium power bank and 3C battery charger are not permitted to access to Taiwan market until they are inspected and qualified according to the relevant standards (as shown in table below).

▍Why MCM?

● In 2014, rechargeable lithium battery became mandatory in Taiwan, and MCM began to provide the latest information about BSMI certification and the testing service for global clients, especially those from mainland China.

● High Rate of Pass: MCM has already help clients to obtained more than 1,000 BSMI certificates till now in one go.

● Bundled services: MCM helps clients successfully enter multiple markets in worldwide through one-stop bundled service of simple procedure.

Reese’s Law, signed by President Joe Biden in memory of Reese Hammersmith, an 18-month-old baby girl in the United States who tragically died after accidentally ingesting a button battery, was enacted on August 16, 2022. In order to protect children aged 6 and under from accidental swallowing of button batteries that cause bodily damage, the requirement to develop relevant standards and regulations was put forward. Within 1 year of enactment, i.e., by August 16, 2023, the Commission will promulgate final safety standards for button batteries or button cells and consumer products containing button batteries and cells. A draft of the safety standard has been issued, and these requirements are proposed to be added to 16 CFR Part 1263. The Commission proposes to amend 16 CFR as follows:No. 1263.1: Scope, purpose, effective date, units, and exemptionsIf a portion of the battery compartment enclosure is protected by a pliable material, such as fabric, paper, foam, or vinyl, or by a pliable material with seams, the seam tension test in 16 CFR Part 1250 should be applied with a force of at least 70.0 N to determine if the battery compartment enclosure is exposed or accessible. If there are new exposed or external or accessible parts of the battery box enclosure, repeat the test in (1) and the test in (2) of this paragraph until no new parts of the battery box enclosure are exposed, then perform the test in (3).Removable or replaceable coin cell batteries or coin cell batteries should be subjected to an accessibility test method. This test assesses whether a child has access to a coin cell or cell installed in a consumer product by using an accessibility probe to determine if the coin cell or cell is accessible. The test method is as follows:Note: This test is not to judge the strength of the battery case material, but only to reduce the risk of children touching and swallowing the coin cell or button cell. So the test uses the minimum force to determine whether the probe can touch the button cell or button battery cell can be.