The occurrence of particulate lead in drinking water deserves increased scrutiny since human exposure models, sampling protocol, analytical methods and environmental assessments are based on the presumed dominance of soluble lead in drinking water. Recent cases of childhood lead poisoning from drinking water were tied to solder particles detaching into and contaminating the water supply, and the authors argue that similar cases could be occurring elsewhere but are not being detected due to flawed protocols. Specifically, approved sample handling procedures can "miss" particulate lead that is present in samples, leading to situations in which the actual lead present in drinking water was 5 times higher than was quantified using approved protocols. The presence of chloride, warmer temperatures and lower pH of the stomach render a large fraction of this particulate lead bioavailable when ingested. Under some rare circumstances, this can result in high level consumer exposure to lead in drinking water that is largely undetected. Includes 18 references, tables, figures.