INTRODUCTION Lead ingestion and absorption the exposure of children to many possible sources of lead takes on special importance because of the degree of oral activity among young children. Most infant begin mouthing objects in the middle of their first year and continue until early in the second year of life, when this activity usually subsides. Persistence of mouthing as a major activity beyond 18 months is considered abnormal. The 75 pica, a perverted appetite for nonfood items, occurs com...