Lead poisoning is now essentially a disease of childhood. It must be seen in both historical perspective and in the context of adult poisoning. Unlike the adult problem, childhood poisoning has been recognized comparatively recently, and apart from the isolated but massive exposures of entire populations in previous centuries, it is only during the last 30 years that it has been diagnosed with any frequency. Thus, at the beginning of this century there were about 1000 cases of adult poisoning from occupational sources alone each year with seventy deaths, whereas at the present time there are about seventy cases per annum reported and the last adult death was 18 years ago. Since lead poisoning is not a notifiable disease in childhood actual figures are difficult to obtain. However, in the United Kingdom it is thought that there are about 100 admissions of children to hospital each year with a diagnosis of lead poisoning and about two deaths per annum. There is every reason to suppose that these figures, which contrast markedly with those in the U.S.A., underestimate the true position. It is difficult to understand why this entirely preventable disease persists in childhood in 1974 when the adult form has virtually been eliminated. I propose therefore to consider the diagnostic problems involved and to examine the measures currently available for prevention, and to suggest improvements in our current approach.