We have investigated total Pb distributions in the water column from various sites in the north-east Atlantic. Sea water samples were collected during the Fluxatlante cruise in 1985. Total Pb ranged from 35 to 45 ng.l-1 (170-220 pmol l-1) in surface waters and decreased with depth in a manner consistent with previous findings. The high concentrations in surface waters probably reflect an important anthropogenic input of Pb from the atmosphere. Concentrations of total Pb are higher than in the western Atlantic. This difference seems to be closely related to the difference in atmospheric inputs of anthropogenic Pb. Three of the stations exhibit a specific Pb excess at the depth of the Mediterranean waters outflowing in the intermediate Atlantic waters; such an anomaly appears conservative over a distance of about 2 000 km. The east-west difference in concentrations is expected first to increase, because Pb in US-Canadian gasoline decreases faster than in European gasoline, and then to disappear when the new European anti-Pb regulations take full effect.