Letters to the Editor

Abstract

Drs. Piomelli et al.1 propose the free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) test as a screen for "undue lead absorption." With the backing of Dr. Chisolm's Commentary,2 the FEP test may become the method of choice for screening population at risk for lead toxicity. I would like to suggest three points of caution: (1) By defining "undue risk" in terms of "ambiguous levels" of 40 to 59µg/100 ml of whole blood lead, the authors may miss the significant number of children shown by Drs. de la Burdé and Choate3 to have behavioral and fine motor deficits after asymptomatic lead exposure (> 30 to 40µg/100 ml with radiological evidence of ingestion).