What are the Banned Substances?
Electrical and electronic components and/or equipment put on the market after July 1rst, 2006 does not contain:

Lead (Pb), e.g. in solder, pre tinned wires, Plastic parts (stabilizers), Batteries.

Cadmium (Cd), e.g. as stabilizers in plastics, pigmentation of paint / ink, printed circuit boards, SMD-Chips-Resistors, Infrared Detectors Semiconductors, Connectors, Insulting materials, Batteries, etc.

Mercury (Hg) e.g. Thermostats, Sensors, Relais, Switches, Batteries, packaging materials, Ink, etc.

Chrome VI (CrVI) e.g. yellow passivated screws or other mechanical parts

What does "Lead Free Electronics" means?

The most prominent and ubiquitous substance is "lead" (Pb) as it is in larger quantities in nearly all electronic components and equipment.

Therefore the discussion hovers mostly around lead and its elimination from electronic equipment, solder alloys and of course components. This is why most of the time lead-free is mentioned but RoHS-compliant is meant.

What are the Maximum Concentration Value?

In current legislation several types of minimum content threshold are used to identify the presence of a specific material.
These include allowed maximum ppm levels: not exceeding the natural background concentration, below the detectable concentration and not intentionally added. The first three are continuously under debate.

Are there any exceptions?

The Directive does not apply to spare parts for the repair or to the re-use, of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market before July 1rst, 2006.