International radiobiology archives of long-term animal studies: structure, possible uses and potential extension.

Animal experiments have contributed a great deal to our information on effects and risks arising from exposure to radionuclides. This applies, in particular, to alpha-emitting radionuclides where information from man is limited to thorotrast, 224Ra and 226Ra. The late C.W. Mays was the first to suggest that animal data in conjunction with epidemiological data could allow estimates of human risks for radionuclides - predominantly from actinides - where information in man is scarce. The 'International Radiobiology Archives of Long-term Animal Studies' were created through the combined efforts of European, American and Japanese scientists and aim to safeguard the large amount of existing data on long-term animal experiments and make them available for, among others, an improved assessment of risks from alpha-emitting radionuclides. This paper summarizes the structure of the archives and reviews their present status and future plans. It also demonstrates the extensive information available in these archives on alpha-emitting radionuclides which is suitable for further analysis. Also, the structure of the animal archives could - in a slightly modified form - accommodate the epidemiological data available on 224Ra and thorotrast and, thus, facilitate a direct comparison of data from man, dogs and rodents.