The city of Mitrovica, located in northern Kosovo, lies at the entrance to a valley where a lead ore processing plant was built. For several decades, this region has been subject to massive environmental pollution caused by emissions from these plants, particularly heavy metals such as lead. As part of its mission, the French contingent of NATO forces in Kosovo (KFOR), deployed to Mitrovica in the summer of 1999, found itself in close proximity to these outdated and poorly maintained industrial facilities. It was therefore essential to establish a process for assessing and monitoring lead exposure among these personnel. This environmental risk was reported by the Armed Forces Health Service (SSA) as early as October 1999 and subsequently confirmed by an expert assessment mission conducted by the Naval Laboratory for Analysis, Surveillance, and Expertise (Lasem) in Toulon. This article describes the method and equipment used for this monitoring and presents the results. Following this article, Mr. Ledrans raises questions about the impact of this lead exposure on the health of the civilian population living in the region, where a concerning health situation persists—a situation highlighted for over twenty years by the epidemiological studies conducted there successively. (adapted from the text)