The recall of Samsung's Note 7 phones has prompted a move to modernise safety standards for lithium-ion batteries.
A picture of a damaged Samsung Galaxy Note 7: The phones were recalled after their batteries were found to cause fires. Photo: AFP
Safety standards for lithium-ion batteries need to be modernised following a massive recall of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd phones after faulty batteries caused fires, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
"Consumers should never have to worry that a battery-powered device might put them, their family or their property at risk," the agency's chairman, Elliot Kaye, said in a statement.
The agency reached agreement with Samsung to recall 2.5 million Note 7 phones in early September. While most recalls have a "dangerously low" consumer response rate, 97 percent of Samsung's Note 7 phones had been returned, Mr Kaye said.
The consumer-safety regulator was working with Samsung and the industry to update the voluntary standard for lithium-ion batteries in smartphones, it said.
"At a minimum, industry needs to learn from this experience and improve consumer safety by putting more safeguards in place during the design and manufacturing stages to ensure that technologies run by lithium-ion batteries deliver their benefits without the serious safety risks," Mr Kaye said.
- Reuters
