The BFKL Pomeron: Can it be Detected?

An estimate is derived for the absolute magnitude of BFKL pomeron exchange at $t=0$. The analysis takes account of energy conservation and of the need realistically to model nonperturbative contributions to the BFKL integral from infrared regions. Experiment finds that there is little or no room for a significant BFKL term in soft processes, and this constrains its magnitude in hard and semihard processes, so that it is unlikely to be detectable.