A simple method of deproteinizing whole blood with an 0.8M (5%, v/v) nitric acid solution containing Triton X-100 (0.1%, v/v) is described. The resulting supernatant is used for the measurement of lead by Zeeman graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry using calibration with aqueous standards. Recoveries ranged from 97.7-105.6% when an aqueous lead solution was added to a deproteinized sample supernatant and from 98.5-104.5% when whole blood control material was added to a whole blood sample. At a blood lead concentration of 11.2 micrograms/dL, the within- and between-run coefficients of variation were both approximately 5%. Comparison of the proposed method versus one using a recommended matrix modifier gave a regression equation of Y(proposed) = 0.99x(matrix modifier)-0.36, with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.994 (n = 54).