Against the backdrop of continuous advancements in medical imaging technology, expanding nuclear energy applications, and rising demand for industrial non‑destructive testing, lead‑based products such as lead sheets and lead bricks – core radiation shielding materials – are gaining increasing market prominence. According to industry research data, the global lead market was valued at approximately US$12.36 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach US$13.05 billion in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 5.6%. By 2030, the global lead market is projected to reach US$17.06 billion, with the CAGR further rising to 6.9%. As important sub‑categories of lead products, lead sheets and lead bricks are widely used in medical buildings, laboratories, industrial flaw detection, nuclear medicine, and radioactive source storage, constituting a rigid demand in the global radiation protection field.
Major Application Scenarios: Full Coverage of Medical and Industrial Sectors
In the medical field, lead sheet is an excellent shielding material for low‑energy radiation and is widely used in CT rooms, DR rooms, DSA interventional therapy rooms, linear accelerator radiotherapy rooms, nuclear medicine departments, and other facilities. The 2025 National Radiological Health Monitoring Report shows that the number of radiological diagnosis and treatment devices in medical institutions alone has exceeded 120,000 units, with an annual growth rate of about 7.3%. The renovation of older equipment rooms and the construction of new equipment rooms have created greater demand for lead‑based shielding materials. Lead bricks, as the main modular shielding material for radiation protection, offer advantages such as high density, high radiation attenuation rate, free stacking, flexible assembly and disassembly, and reusability. They are widely used in shielding walls of radioactive source storage facilities, partitions in radiotherapy departments, temporary shielding for industrial flaw detection, and radioactive experiment cubicles in scientific research laboratories. In the industrial sector, standards for industrial flaw detection, anti‑corrosion engineering, and nuclear industry protection are also becoming progressively stricter. Many local regulations now require shielding materials to have a purity of not less than 99.9%, and the installation process must pass third‑party acceptance.
Global Position: Leading Production Capacity and Strong Export Competitiveness
China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of lead products. Relying on its well‑established upstream lead industry system and large‑scale lead‑acid battery industrial cluster, China occupies a dominant position in the processing and manufacturing of lead sheets, lead bricks, and other lead products. The Chinese lead products industry has formed a full‑chain service system covering high‑purity lead ingot supply, deep processing and manufacturing, and customized installation. As global radiation protection standards continue to be upgraded, acceptance specifications for radiation protection projects in many provinces since 2025 have explicitly required that lead content in lead products must reach 99.994% or higher (i.e., the Grade 1 lead ingot standard), accelerating the phase‑out of inferior recycled lead products. Domestically produced lead sheets cover thicknesses from 0.3 mm to 50 mm, and lead bricks can be custom‑shaped with mortise‑and‑tenon interlocking designs, achieving edge bite errors of less than 0.5 mm, effectively reducing gap leakage and delivering shielding performance that ranks among the best in the world.
Global Strategic Mission: Safeguarding Radiation Safety Worldwide with Chinese Solutions
Based on its three core strengths – high‑purity raw materials, precision manufacturing, and flexible customization – China’s lead products industry continues to supply high‑quality lead sheets and lead bricks to global applications in medical radiation protection, industrial flaw detection, and nuclear energy. Following the development trend of “high purity, modularization, and intelligence,” China’s lead products industry will continue to lead the progress and upgrading of global radiation shielding materials, providing solid Chinese solutions for global public health security and nuclear technology application safety.
