1 Pier Avenue Pediatrics, Santa Monica, CA 90405
To the Editor.
For many, it is hard to believe that small amounts of lead pose a risk to children. In the February issue of Pediatrics, Dr Edgar Schoen cautioned physicians that the recent national focus on lead is overstated.1 Although Dr Schoen is correct that early lead studies were inadequately designed, he ignores later research which is well-designed and clearly implicates lead. In doing so, he seriously underestimates the hidden cost to our society of this pervasive toxin.