Mandatory National Standard Issued for Eye and Face Protection

China News Service reports that the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardisation Administration of China approved and published the mandatory national standard GB 32166—2026, Technical Specifications for Special Protective Performance of Eye and Face Protectors. Organised and revised by the Ministry of Emergency Management through a specialised technical subcommittee, the standard targets severe eye and face risks in operations including smelting, casting, and cutting, addressing hazards such as ultraviolet and infrared radiation, molten metals, liquid droplets, dust particles, and thermal radiation. The update establishes technical rules for functional optical filters, categorising transmittance limits by shade numbers for ultraviolet, infrared, and occupational solar filters, while defining additional requirements for designated solar blue light and solar ultraviolet protection. It also details eight categories of special physical and mechanical protection, requiring lenses to resist fogging within 8 seconds after testing, withstand molten metal penetration for 5 seconds, and restrict corneal vertex temperature increases on headforms to no more than 25℃ after 3 minutes of thermal radiation testing. Testing procedures and judgment criteria are standardised through normative appendices covering instruments, sample preparation, and testing steps for transmittance, anti-fogging, molten metals, and thermal radiation. In addition, the standard enforces labeling and information transparency by regulating special protection marking orders, adopting Chinese symbols for user recognition, and mandating that manufacturers provide data on shade numbers and filtration capabilities with each product.