Overview

Lead (Lead, Pb) is a heavy metal element widely used in solder, batteries, pigments, plastic stabilizers, and alloys. Lead is neurotoxic, and long-term exposure or ingestion can lead to nervous system damage, intellectual development disorders, and kidney damage, which is particularly harmful to children. Major global markets have set strict limits on the lead content in products: the EU RoHS Directive restricts the lead content in electrical and electronic products to no more than1000 ppm, the US CPSIA restricts lead content in children's products, and the REACH regulation restricts lead compounds in consumer products. Lead content testing is one of the basic items in compliance assessment for consumer products and electrical and electronic products.

02

Applicable Product Scope

Applicable Product and Service Categories

Lead content testing is applicable to the following products: electrical and electronic products (solder, PCB pads, component leads, metal enclosures, plastic enclosures, wires and cables, etc.), toys and children's products (paint coatings, plastic parts, metal parts, ceramic parts, etc.), jewelry (metal accessories, alloy parts, enamel coatings, etc.), food contact materials (ceramic glazes, glassware, metal tableware, etc.), coatings and paints (wall paints, toy paints, art pigments, etc.), ceramic and glass products, textiles (metal-coated fabrics and accessories). The US CPSIA includes all children's products for children under 12 years of age within the scope of lead content control.

03

Limit requirements

Technical Standards and Compliance Indicators

Lead content limit requirements are divided into the following categories based on different regulations

NoteThe limits in RoHS and CPSIA are for total lead content (in homogeneous materials), while those in EN 71-3 and FDA standards are migration limits (the amount dissolved in simulated gastric acid or food simulants).

Regulations/Standards	Scope of Control	Lead content limit
-----------	----------	------------
EU RoHS 2.0	Homogeneous materials of electrical and electronic products	1000 ppm (0.1%)
US CPSIA Section 101(a)	Products for children under 12 (Total Lead, Substrate)	100 ppm (0.01%)
US CPSIA Section 101(b)	Children's products for ages 12 and under (surface coatings/paint)	90 ppm (0.009%)
16 CFR 1303	Consumer Products Paint and Surface Coatings	90 ppm (0.009%)
EU REACH Annex XVII, Entry 63	Jewelry for consumer use	500 ppm (0.05%)
Entry 17 of EU REACH Annex XVII	Lead and its compounds in jewelry	0.05% (500 ppm)
US FDA	Food contact ceramics (flatware)	3.0 µg/mL (extraction test)
US FDA	Food contact ceramics (small holloware)	2.0 μg/mL (extraction test)
China GB 4806.4	Ceramic food contact products	0.8 mg/dm² (migration limit)
California Prop 65	Consumer products ( reproductive toxicity)	Warning labels must be provided (no uniform limit, typically refer to NSRL)
EN 71-3	Toys (Migration limits, Category I dry/brittle materials)	2.0 mg/kg
EN 71-3	Toys (migration limits, Category II liquid/sticky materials)	0.5 mg/kg
EN 71-3	Toys (Migration limits, Category III Scraped-off material)	23 mg/kg

04

Test Methods and Standards

Core Testing Items and Indicators

Lead content testing methods are divided into two categories: total lead testing and migration lead testing.

I. Total Lead Content Test Reference StandardCPSC-CH-E1001-08.3 (Metal parts), CPSC-CH-E1002-08.3 (Non-metallic parts), CPSC-CH-E1003-09.1 (Paint and similar surface coatings), IEC 62321-5 (Electrical and electronic products).

Testing ProcessGrind the sample to the specified particle size (passing through a 0.5mm sieve) and perform microwave digestion using concentrated nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. After dilution, the digested solution is quantitatively analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), or Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS). The detection limit is typically 2 to10 ppm。

II. Lead Migration Test (Toys and Food Contact Materials) Reference StandardEN 71-3 (toys, extracted using 0.07 mol/L hydrochloric acid to simulate gastric acid), EN 13130 or EN 1186 (food contact materials, extracted using food simulants).

Testing ProcessThe sample is immersed in 0.07 mol/L hydrochloric acid solution (EN 71-3) or food simulants, and extracted under specified temperature and time conditions. The extract is analyzed for lead content by ICP-OES or ICP-MS.

III. XRF Rapid Screening Using an X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF) for non-destructive rapid screening can determine the approximate content range of lead. XRF is suitable for large-batch screening, but precise analysis still requires the chemical digestion method.

05

Certification Process

Complete steps from application to certification

Lead Content Compliance Testing Process
Step 1	Confirm the product's target market and applicable regulations (RoHS, CPSIA, REACH, EN 71-3, etc.).
Step 2	Disassemble the product to the homogeneous material level, and identify all components that may contain lead (solder joints, metal parts, paint coatings, plastics, etc.).
Step 3	Take samples of each homogeneous material and send them to the laboratory.
Step 4	Conduct total lead testing or lead migration testing in accordance with regulatory requirements.
Step 5	Conduct compliance determination against the limits.
Step 6	Issue the test report and incorporate it into the compliance documents.

06

Required Documents and Notes

List of Required Documents and Materials for Application

To apply for lead content testing, the following information must be provided: product name and model.

List of components to be tested (indicate material type

Sample quantity (at least 5 to 10 grams per material, and a sufficient area is required for paint coatings)

Description of applicable regulations. Note: The RoHS lead limit is at the homogeneous material level (1000 ppm), each material must be tested separately. The CPSIA lead limits for children's products are more stringent (substrate100 ppm

Coating90 ppm). Ceramic glazes are high-risk materials for excessive lead, especially painted ceramics and antique-style ceramics. Lead in solder is the primary source of lead in electrical and electronic products, and lead-free solder (Sn-Ag-Cu system) is the standard alternative for RoHS compliance. Lead content testing is a destructive test. Certain applications of lead are granted RoHS exemptions (such as lead in solder for servers/storage equipment

lead in high-melting-point solder, etc.), but the exemption list is continuously narrowing. For food contact materials, the lead migration limit is much lower than the total lead limit, and migration testing methods must be used.

07

Why Choose Anmai Testing for Lead Content Testing

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