Comparison of Early Mortality in Baboons and Dogs after Inhalation of 239 PuO 2

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Abstract
The relative sensitivity of baboons [Papio-papio] and dogs to early mortality from inhaled 239PuO2 was compared. Methodology differences were minimized by establishing a common pool of raw data, using the same computer programs for analysis and standardizing assumptions for the calculation of Pu concentration in lungs. Several comparison methods were used involving variations in estimating different parameters used in these calculations. Although most comparisons suggested baboons were slightly more sensitive, none of the methods for comparing the relationship between dose and survival time showed consistently significant differences between baboons and dogs. Although the baboons were physiologically and morphologically immature when exposed to Pu and the dogs were mature, adult baboons and dogs are similarly sensitive to the early effects of inhaled 239PuO2. Since only early mortality was considered in this comparison, late effects caused by much lower levels of Pu do not apply.