Sampling and analysis techniques used in a blood lead survey of 1241 children in Port Pirie, South Australia.

Methods are described for taking finger-prick blood samples and for analyzing these samples for lead. Quality-control techniques and procedures for the validation of all results are described. Results of a survey of 1241 children are given and results for 149 venous samples are compared with results for the corresponding finger-prick samples. This finger-prick sampling method evidently is suitable for use in screening large numbers of children.