The effect of bone meal (Ca5(PO4)3OH) amendments on lead (Pb) bioavailability to Eisenia fetida (Savigny 1826) was investigated. A standard uncontaminated soil was amended with Pb(NO3)2 solution to give Pb concentrations of 7,000 microg/g of soil. After one week, bone meal was added to one half of the soil in the ratio 1:20 bone meal:soil. Immediately after addition of the bone meal, survival times of E. fetida were 23 and 41 h in the bone meal-free and bone meal-amended soil, respectively. Twenty-eight days after addition of the bone meal, survival times of Eisenia fetida were 67 h in the bone meal-free soil and more than 168 h in the bone meal-amended soil. In a second experiment, a standard Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reproduction toxicity test was carried out, but in addition to Pb(NO3)2 solution, bone meal was added to the soil in the ratio 1:20 bone meal:soil. The bone meal-free soil was left for five weeks before addition of E. fetida. In the bone meal-amended soil, bone meal was added to the soil one week after addition of the Pb. The soil was left for a further four weeks before addition of Eisenia fetida. Calculated toxicities were significantly lower for the bone meal-amended soil than those calculated for the bone meal-free soil. Twenty-eight-day median lethal concentrations (LC50s; concentration that is statistically likely to kill 50% of the exposed test organism within a given time period +/- 95% confidence intervals) of Pb were 4,379 +/- 356 microg/g of soil for bone meal-free soil and 5,203 +/- 401 microg/g of soil for bone meal-amended soil. Twenty-eight-day median effect concentrations (EC50s; concentration causing a reduction by 50% of a stated parameter) of Pb for weight change were 1,408 +/- 198 microg/g of soil for bone meal-free soil and 3,334 +/- 731 microg/g of soil for bone meal-amended soil and EC50s for cocoon production were 971 +/- 633 microg/g of soil for bone meal-free soil and 1,814 +/- 613 microg/g of soil for bone meal-amended soil. Significant mortalities occurred at Pb concentrations of 2,000 microg/g of soil in the bone meal-free soil and 5,000 microg/g of soil in the bone meal-amended soil. Earthworm Pb body load was lower in the bone meal-treated soil than in the bone meal-free soil up to a Pb concentration of 5,000 microg/g of soil. Earthworm Pb body load was approximately 100 microg/g of worm in surviving earthworms in both experiments when significant mortality occurred. Water and diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-extractable soil Pb showed good correlations with earthworm Pb body load. These extractions could be used as estimates for Pb bioavailability.