The excessive amount of nickel precipitation in the frames will lead to human health damage. The international standardization organization and the European Union standardization organization have strict management measures, while China has not yet included in the national standards.

More than 60% of domestic production enterprises with simple technology, backward equipment and low quality are likely to die out once the requirement of nickel precipitation is included in the national standard.

China's glass companies face a dilemma

The nickel plating process is widely used in the products of glasses frames made in China. But nickel is a heavy metal element that can lead to skin contact allergies. Medical observations have shown that prolonged exposure to nickel can cause skin irritation and even cancer. As early as in the 90 s, the international organization for standardization (ISO) and the European organization for standardization (CEN), in the standard of metal frames nickel precipitation amount and testing put forward strict requirements, and China's current standards related to the glasses products, especially the national standard "GB/T14214 frames general requirements and test methods, which has not been involved in.

Recently, the eu standardization organization has conducted several friendly and implicit communications with Chinese experts, hoping that the Chinese side will seriously consider the standard of nickel precipitation. This has sent a signal to the Chinese glasses industry that a significant proportion of Chinese companies will face life and death challenges once the eu puts the amount of nickel out of their frames under compulsory management.

Dilemma under international standard pressure

There are strict international regulations and testing standards for nickel precipitation of metal spectacle frames. Products with unqualified nickel precipitation are not allowed to be sold to end consumers. As early as June 1994, the European Union issued the 94/27/EC directive, which set standards for the amount of product-related nickel precipitation. In July 1997, the European Union issued three more harmonized standards, defining the methods for qualitative analysis of nickel precipitation. ISO/TS24348 the spectacle frame - to simulate the wear of metal and alloy frame and nickel precipitation amount detection method of international standard officially promulgated in 2007, which explicitly: frames direct and prolonged contact with the wearer's skin of metal and alloy of nickel precipitation amount, shall not exceed 0.5 mu g/cm2 / per week. The forthcoming ISO12312-1 "sunglasses" international standards, a direct reference to the provisions and requirements: the design and manufacturing of sunglasses should not endanger the health or safety of the wearer, the precipitation should be put by the lens or frame materials may damage the wearer to low risk of skin.

Wang Liru, director of the China academy of standardized optical engineering laboratory researcher, said that in recent years, the European organization for standardization are re-engineering the glasses product standard, given that China has now become glasses product manufacture and exporter, the organization's official standardization related departments to communicate with China through various channels.

Recently, ISO/TC172 / SC7 ophthalmic optics and instrument technology committee secretary-general personally wrote a letter to Wang Liru, strongly invited her at a convenient time to go to Europe to communication about frames nickel precipitation amount standard work. In the letter she said: although the European organization for standardization in the group of frames nickel precipitation amount of international comparison and standard revision, but not has nothing to do with China, China is the world's big glasses production, export and consumption power, the European market a lot of mid-range frames from China; And China itself has hundreds of millions of consumers. SC7, on behalf of CEN170 of the eu, sincerely hopes that Chinese counterparts can step in at an early date and make corresponding contributions in this field.

From many communications, the eu and the ISO are taking this matter very seriously. As for the standard of nickel precipitation of optical frames, China cannot get around it

Researcher wang liru said the secretary general's well-intentioned and implicit expression of SC7 revealed a subtext: China should consider developing a test standard on the amount of nickel precipitated from glass frames as soon as possible. If China's eyewear products, both in the international market and among domestic consumers, fail to produce enough nickel, there is only one outcome: they will be eliminated.