Alternatives to animal testing: information resources via the Internet and World Wide Web.

Many countries, including the United States, Canada, European Union member states, and others, require that a comprehensive search for possible alternatives be completed before beginning some or all research involving animals. Completing comprehensive alternatives searches and keeping current with information associated with alternatives to animal testing is a challenge that will be made easier as people throughout the world gain access to the Internet and World Wide Web. Numerous Internet and World Wide Web resources are available to provide guidance and other information on in vitro and other alternatives to animal testing. A comprehensive Web site is Alternatives to Animal Testing on the Web (Altweb), which serves as an online clearinghouse for resources, information, and news about alternatives to animal testing. Examples of other important Web sites include the joint one for the (US) Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) Interagency Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Methods (NICEATM) and the Norwegian Reference Centre for Laboratory Animal Science and Alternatives (The NORINA database). Internet mailing lists and online access to bulletin boards, discussion areas, newsletters, and journals are other ways to access and share information to stay current with alternatives to animal testing.

Human health risk assessment: selected Internet and world wide web resources.

The world wide web (WWW) has become a valuable source of 24 hour-a-day access to information needed by human health risk assessors. Various web sites and other Internet resources provide information needed for human hazard identification, dose-response evaluation, exposure assessment, risk characterization, and risk management. Information on risk communication is also available. Substantial collections of information on multiple aspects of risk assessment are found in sites sponsored by RiskWorld, the (US) EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA), the (US) National Library of Medicine's TOXNET, the (US) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS). Also valuable are various web sites providing information on the physical and chemical properties of chemicals, the environmental fate and transport of chemicals, government regulations, and guidance and training for performing risk assessments. Several professional societies and other organizations have web sites addressing risk assessment issues and information, and there are Internet mailing lists for online help and for sharing information and perspectives. We classify selected web sites according to user needs and provide the reader with a collection of selected sites that can serve as entry points to risk assessment-related web resources.