GB/T 37876-2019Guideline for conformity assessment of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products (English PDF)

1 Scope

China's national guideline for assessing conformity with the restrictions on hazardous substances in electrical and electronic products. It specifies the terms and definitions, the general provisions and the conformity assessment, beginning with the risk assessment of hazardous substances. This is the practical half of China's restriction regime - the counterpart to the rules that set the limits on lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium and the brominated flame retardants. The difficulty it addresses is that a finished electronic product contains thousands of distinct materials from hundreds of suppliers, and testing every one of them is impossible at any sensible cost. So conformity has to be built from a risk assessment: identifying which materials and components could plausibly contain a restricted substance, obtaining evidence proportionate to that risk, and testing where the evidence is weak. That approach is what makes the regime enforceable rather than merely declared.

This Standard specifies the steps, contents, and methods for the organization to assess the conformity for restriction of hazardous substances in electronic and electrical products. This Standard applies to the organization's conformity assessment for the restriction of hazardous substances in electronic and electrical products.

Note: The organization mainly refers to producers of electronic and electrical products.

2 Normative references

The following documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For the dated references, only the editions with the dates indicated are applicable to this document. For the undated references, the latest edition (including all the amendments) are applicable to this document.

GB/T 26572-2011 Requirements of concentration limits for certain restricted substances in electrical and electronic products

3 Terms and definitions

The following terms and definitions apply to this document.

3.1 Organization A group of personnel and facilities whose responsibilities, authorities, and interrelationships are arranged. Example: company, group, firm, enterprise and public institution, research institution, charity, agent, association, or part or combination of the above organizations.

3.2 Producer The natural or legal person who is responsible for the design and manufacture of a product, whose product is placed on the market in its name or with its trademark, or the natural or legal person who actually produces the product.

4.2 When the assessment is for a class or series of products, the content of Clause 5 shall apply to each product in that class or series.

5 Conformity assessment

5.1 Risk assessment of hazardous substances in electronic and electrical products The organization shall identify risk factors for possible incorporation of hazardous substances at various stages of the product life cycle, particularly at the stages of product design, procurement, process manufacturing, and assess the risk level of hazardous substances.

Note: The risk identification and assessment of hazardous substances in products refers to the methods approved by SJ/T 11467 or other industries or organizations.

6 Maintenance of assessment results

6.1 The organization shall establish appropriate procedures to ensure that the product is always consistent with its conformity declaration for restriction of hazardous substances.

6.2 In the following cases, the organization shall re-implement the conformity assessment for restriction of hazardous substances and keep records:

a) The laws and regulations and/or customer requirements have changed;

b) The technical standards or specifications adopted have changed;

c) Due to optimization or adjustment of the supply chain, the product's conformity assessment results may be affected;

d) The supplier's management system associated with the restriction of hazardous substances has changed;