Overview
Lead is a soft, dense heavy metal that has been used in electronics and industry for a very long time. It is toxic to reproduction and damages the nervous system, and it builds up in living things and in the environment. Because of that, its use in products is tightly controlled.
Where it's restricted
Under RoHS lead is capped at 0.1 percent by weight in each homogeneous material. The directive carries many exemptions, so some uses remain legal where no workable substitute exists yet. Examples include certain solders and the leaded brass alloy CuZn39Pb3. The current list lives in the RoHS exemptions reference.
Lead is also restricted in vehicles under ELV, and both lead and a long list of lead compounds appear on the REACH Candidate List as substances of very high concern. See SVHC for what that status means.
Typical uses
Lead shows up in solders, in various alloys, in batteries, in some glass and ceramic formulations, and as a stabiliser in PVC. Many of these applications have moved to substitutes, but legacy and exempted uses continue.
The 0.1 percent threshold applies per homogeneous material, not to the whole product. A small leaded sub-part can put an otherwise compliant assembly over the limit.
Note: general educational information, not legal advice. Check the official source before relying on it.