GB/T 26572 lead limit - what does this mean? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: victorhooi
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2022, 03:49:15 am
content: I bought a small IKEA nightlight for my daughter.I noticed in the paperwork included, that it mentioned a "SJ/T 11364" standard, as well as "GB/T 26572". My understanding is that these are the equivalents of European RoHS.On the paperwork, it mentioned that the electronics exceeded the limits requirements of "GB/T 26572". (Photo below)Should I be worried about this at all, in terms of young children?I do also have a 1-year old, and he does have a tendency to put things in his mouth, or break things apart (well, him and he 4 year old).Does this just mean they use leaded solder, or could it be something else? I'm curious how these things are sold - since my understanding was that lead-solder products were already banned in a lot of countries (EU, Asia, Australia etc.)

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2022, 02:33:40 pm
content: No. Lead in electronics is only a potential health risk during manufacturer and disposal.

author: BrokenYugo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2022, 02:51:40 pm
content: Lead stabilizers are still used in a lot of PVC products, like cheap wire insulation. Probably purely internal on a little plug in night light.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2022, 04:06:28 pm
content: GB/T is a Chinese standard, so chances are this is included for regulatory harmony. China is worried about lead but the lead in the product is only considered excessive by the Chinese standard or it's easier to say it's in violation if there's no consequence beyond warning the customer. A bit like Prop 60 warnings in California.My guess is the Chinese standard may be oddly even more strict than RoHS, perhaps proscribing half the amount of lead for instance. Since parts are RoHS marked but lead quantities are rarely directly disclosed by the manufacturers, it may be a case that Ikea is being cautious rather than risking non compliance.RoHS is already very strict on lead levels so I would personally not worry.

author: niconiconi
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2022, 06:57:10 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on July 17, 2022, 04:06:28 pmThis is basically correct. In the beginning of this year, I happened to have spent some time studying the regulations, and it turns out, there are two reasons:(1) First, the China RoHS was/is pretty weak, it only required you to declare in a factsheet that "it has too much lead, per GB/T 26572". But you were still allowed to sell it, because the Chinese RoHS was (and still is) NOT FULLY ENFORCED, yet. Enforcement was initially left as an exercise for future regulators in a progressive manner over many years. For circuit boards, Pb was essentially completely unregulated in the 2010s. In recent years, regulators are now starting to really enforce it, but even then, only for a number of selected categories (e.g. cellphones, if I recall correctly), not all products.So, even if the product is Pb-free, for domestic sales in China, you better claim it contains Pb. By doing so, you avoid all the legal risks, so you don't have any legal liabilities if Pb is accidentally introduced in the supply chain. Saying it's Pb-free when it does not is illegal, but the other way around is okay. Also, for flexibility, you're free to change your manufacturer to a non-RoHS one if you have to.On the other hand, practically speaking, I believe EU version and the Chinese version of most name brand electronics are identical, and made at the same production line (In fact many Chinese factories these days are already strictly Pb-free to avoid contamination and disqualification from EU RoHS).(2) Another reason responsible for this odd "Pb-free per EU RoHS but not China RoHS" situation appears to be a peculiar technical detail in the regulation. As we know, it's not always feasible to remove Pb. For example, high-Pb solder used internally inside some BGA flip-chip packages for connecting the die doesn't have many alternatives, thus both EU and China RoHS have "technology exemptions".But an implementation detail differs. Under EU RoHS, if Pb is permitted by an exemption, you are CE & Pb-free (per EU RoHS) compliant as usual. But under China RoHS, you must still declare "Pb is beyond limit" (despite it's actually permitted by regulations), because the rules on RoHS factsheets don't care about exemptions. Quite confusing indeed.Conclusions:1. For complex systems like a PC motherboard or a smartphone, "RoHS technology exemptions" is likely to be the reason here.2. For small gadgets: I just random sampled a bunch of QFP, QFN and BGA chips, all of them are truly Pb-free and none of them needs an RoHS-exemption. So I think the main reasons are still flexibility and avoiding legal risks.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2022, 08:35:48 pm
content: You also have Ikea, with a lot invested in their reputation and quality control. They closely specify products rather than just buying them in the wholesale market.