Spain just recalled seven eclipse glasses models over a transmittance flaw

Spanish consumer authorities pulled Lionstar, ECP Eye Care Professional, Pelispan, Homanaje, Orro, Opticalia and Mo eclipse glasses off shelves hours before today's eclipse. The filters were too dark, and the real danger is what that darkness makes people do.

The gist. Spain's consumer protection ministry has recalled seven eclipse glasses models, including Lionstar, Pelispan and Opticalia, for a filter transmittance below the required minimum. The ministry's own clarification is the counterintuitive part, excess darkness alone is not what hurts you. The danger is taking the glasses off because you cannot see anything through them.

This evening, as the Sun sets over northern Spain, thousands of people will put on a pair of cardboard glasses and look straight at it. That is the only safe way to watch a solar eclipse. In the days leading up to it, Spanish authorities had to pull seven models of those glasses off the market for a defect that most buyers would never have caught by eye.

Which glasses were pulled

Spain's Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, coordinating alerts issued by the regions of Madrid, Castilla y León, Galicia, La Rioja, Aragon and the Balearic Islands, has been adding warnings about unsafe solar glasses since late July. According to the list compiled by consumer group OCU, the affected models are:

• Lionstar, model LSP1, batch LSJE202604
• ECP Eye Care Professional
• Pelispan
• Homanaje, model QW-50Z1
• Orro, model O37-R, batch 2603-01
• Opticalia, model GP0247
• Mo, model 2508-RS003, batch 0326, added a few days later under
• alert reference NG-24/2026

If you have a pair of eclipse glasses sitting in a drawer from one of these brands, do not use them today. Other outlets tracking the story, including consumer watchdog FACUA, report the same brands, though the exact count shifts between six and seven models depending on when each source published, since the Mo alert landed after the first wave.

The defect is the opposite of what you would guess

The obvious assumption is that these glasses let through too much light. It is the reverse. Lab checks found the filter on these models has transmittance below the required minimum, meaning they are too dark. So dark that looking through them shows solid black, not a visible solar disc.

Here is the detail that actually matters, and one the ministry itself went out of its way to clarify. Seeing the Sun as too dark "does not imply any risk, as long as the person wearing these glasses does not remove them." The danger is not in wearing them. It is in what a person does when a filter that is supposed to show them the Sun shows them nothing at all, which is to lift it for a second to find the Sun with the naked eye. That unprotected second, with no filter between the retina and direct sunlight, is what causes the harm.

What the standard's margin actually is

The standard governing these products, EN ISO 12312-2:2015, sets not just a maximum but also a minimum for how much light a solar filter can transmit. A compliant filter must pass between 0.00001 percent and 0.0032 percent of visible light. In terms of photons, a certified filter lets through somewhere between 1 in 10 million (the darkest end allowed) and 1 in 31,250 (the lightest end allowed, roughly equivalent to a shade 12 welding glass). A filter that falls below that first number is not unsafe because it is dark, it is unsafe because of the behavior it provokes in the person wearing it.

A CE mark printed on the box is not proof by itself either. Under EU Regulation 2016/425 on personal protective equipment, eclipse glasses are classified as Category II, and the CE mark is only valid if backed by a type examination and laboratory testing confirming the filter actually meets the ISO standard. Several of the recalled models carried the printed mark without that backing, according to OCU. The label alone proves nothing.

Why a retinal burn gives no warning

The retina has no pain receptors. Solar radiation concentrated by the eye's lens onto the macula causes what is called solar retinopathy, a mix of photochemical and thermal damage that in many cases is not noticed until hours later, when a fixed blind or blurred spot shows up in the center of the visual field, sometimes permanently. Nobody feels the moment of injury. That is why the official recommendation is so strict, protection has to stay on through the entire partial phase, before and after totality, no exceptions even if the view seems dim.

How to check your own glasses before tonight

Before pointing any pair at the Sun, check for these.

• CE marking and a reference to EN ISO 12312-2:2015 printed on
• the frame or arm
• Legible manufacturer name, batch number and contact details
• The lens free of scratches, pinholes, wrinkles or warping, checked
• against a light
• The Sun appears as a sharp, comfortable orange or white disc, not
• invisible and not blindingly bright

If none of your glasses pass that check, the safe fallback is still projection, a pinhole in a card or a kitchen colander casting the Sun's image onto a surface, never looking directly through anything unverified. We covered how to tell if your eclipse glasses are safe in more detail earlier this week, and tonight the Perseids peak right after totality, two sky shows on the same night.

Frequently asked questions

Which eclipse glasses brands are recalled in Spain

Lionstar (LSP1), ECP Eye Care Professional, Pelispan, Homanaje (QW-50Z1), Orro (O37-R, batch 2603-01), Opticalia (GP0247), and, in a later alert, Mo (2508-RS003, batch 0326).

Is it dangerous for eclipse glasses to be too dark

Not by itself. Spain's consumer ministry clarified that excess darkness does not harm the eye as long as the glasses stay on. The risk appears if the wearer removes them to try to locate the Sun after seeing nothing through the lens.

How do I know if my eclipse glasses are safe

Check for a CE mark and the EN ISO 12312-2:2015 reference, legible manufacturer and batch information, and a lens free of scratches or pinholes. The Sun should look like a sharp, comfortable disc, neither invisible nor blinding.

What should I do if I own a pair from a recalled brand

Do not use them today. Fall back on pinhole projection, which needs no filter over the eye at all, or get a new pair from an optician or retailer you can verify.

Sources

• Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, Consumer Affairs recalls that the eclipse should be seen with certified glasses
• OCU, Six eclipse viewing glasses models withdrawn
• FACUA, Recall ordered for eclipse glasses models over risk of eye injury
• American Astronomical Society, About the ISO 12312-2 Standard for Solar Viewers
• Colegio Oficial de Farmacéuticos de Madrid, Information on alerts regarding solar eclipse observation glasses