Published 1995 | Version v1
Journal article

Thorium in collectible glassware

  • 1. Southwest Missouri State Univ., Springfield, MO (United States)

Description

Samples of yellow glass dinnerware produced by twelve different U.S. companies during the 1930's-1950's have been found to contain thorium. The presence of thorium in glass has not previously been reported in the literature. The colorant in the yellow is cerium, obtained from thorium-rich monazite sands. Incomplete chemical separation has resulted in accidential addition of significant quantities of thorium to the glasses. Thorium glass can be identified by gamma-ray spectroscopy, but it is simpler and cheaper to distinguish between thorium glass and other radioactive glasses (uranium glasses and potassium-40 glasses) by use of a Geiger counter. A 0.5-cm thickness of aluminum shielding between the glass and detector reduces gamma-ray counts from uranium-containing or 40K-containing glasses to less than 1% of the unshielded radiation. In contrast, identical shielding allows 10% of the unshielded thorium radiation to reach the counter. Visible absorption spectra and fluorescence properties of yellow thorium glasses are also different from those of uranium glasses

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Radioactivity and Radiochemistry
Journal Volume
6
Journal Issue
4
Journal Page Range
p. 18-21.
ISSN
1045-845X
CODEN
RARAE6