Microsampling technique and determination of blood lead by Zeeman atomic absorption spectrophotometry.

Quality control materials and participation in proficiency testing programmes were used for assessing the long-term performance of our blood lead analysis. The accuracy and precision of the blood controls, Metals 1 and 2 from the Behring Institute, were evaluated over a 1-year period. The accuracy of the method was also monitored by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Blood Lead Proficiency Testing Programme over a 3-year period. Nearly 85% (28 out of 33 samples) of our results were within +/- 5% of the CDC reference values. There were excellent correlations between our results and the target values of several proficiency testing samples, with correlation coefficient values of 0.9959-0.9970. The method was used for the screening of blood lead in children in conjunction with microsampling techniques.