During the last six months eight instances of lead poisoning in roofers have been encountered at the Los Angeles County General Hospital. Since a search of the literature fails to reveal an account of such a condition in this occupational group, and since in the light of our investigations the hazard of lead poisoning is a new one in these workers, a report is considered justified. The most important information concerning these patients is summarized in the accompanying table. All the patients are males and with but two exceptions are in early adult life. These men have been working as roofers from periods of three months to ten years. All of them give a history of holding the galvanized roofing nails in their mouths while working. None of these give a history of any other exposure to lead. The most striking facts about the entire group are found in the