LEAD in the atmosphere of the Northern Hemisphere originates mostly from lead-alkyl petrol additives emitted from car exhausts¹. A small proportion of this lead-Estimated at about 10%^2,3-Is deposited within 50-100 m of the road while the rest is presumably transported long distances before deposition. There are reports of increasing concentrations of lead in roadside vegetation with decreasing distance from the edge of the road ^1,4,5. This apparent lead contamination ceases beyond 100-200 m from the road, and it is said therefore that airborne lead is not a significant source of lead in crops in general^5-7, although there is circumstantial evidence to the contrary^8,9. We report here, however, that the lead taken up by grass in a remote rural area is predominantly from the atmosphere.