Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs Minister Chris Bowen today announced a mandatory standard for hot water bottles.
“Serious burn injuries have occurred when hot water bottles have ruptured or leaked during use,” Mr Bowen said.
“Available data indicates that there are several hundred serious scalds or contact burns from hot water bottles in Australia each year, many of these involving older persons.
“The new standard applies to both rubber and PVC hot water bottles and will require these items to meet design and performance specifications to help reduce the incidence of burns.
“The standard has been developed through a comprehensive consultation process and has received strong support from all parties including importers, retailers and health practitioners.”
The safety requirements of the new standard are drawn from the 2006 British Standard on hot water bottles and include:
- physical properties (capacity, wall thickness and filling characteristics);
- integrity of stoppers (to prevent leakage);
- performance characteristics (strength of seams, pressure tolerance); and
- informative labelling.
The mandatory safety standard for rubber and PVC hot water bottles has been introduced as Regulations under the Trade Practices Act, and will apply to hot water bottles manufactured or imported from 1 June 2008.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) arranges purchase and testing of all products subject to mandatory standards as part of its ongoing compliance program.
“From 1 June the ACCC will survey hot water bottles as they are sold across Australia, looking at labelling and performance issues,” Mr Bowen said.
“The introduction of the new standard will be supplemented by a consumer awareness campaign which will encourage and facilitate the safe use of hot water bottles.”
The ACCC’s consumer awareness will re-inforce the message not to use boiling water to fill hot water bottles, not to subject hot water bottles to excessive pressures, and provide advice on safe practices when filling and storing hot water bottles.
5 March 2008
Media Contact: James Cullen - 0409 719 879