The United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries as sources for actinide dosimetry and bioeffects

Abstract

The United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) has analysed tissues collected at autopsies of over 300 former radiation workers from actinide processing sites throughout the US, in addition to collecting the medical and radiation exposure histories of those workers. These data are included in a large USTUR database and they are available to research scientists throughout the world, either as public records or through collaborative projects with the USTUR. The USTUR also operates the National Human Radiobiological Tissue Repository (NHRTR), in which portions of tissue samples collected at autopsy are kept. These samples, frozen at -70 degrees C, may be used for molecular studies of the effects of radiation. Medical and radiation exposure histories of the tissue donors are available, as are the results of radiochemical analyses of adjacent portions of the samples. These materials are available to researchers who have collaborative agreements with the USTUR, which can be established by accessing USTUR staff members through the website, http://www.ustur.wsu.edu.