Answer to Question #13539 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Popular Culture and Radiation

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

Q

I am a glass artist and wondering if I break a piece of uranium/Vaseline glass to use in my work, will it be harmful to me or to anyone who comes in contact with my piece of art using this glass?

A

I have a few pieces of Vaseline glass myself—a cube that's a few cm on a side, a flat piece that's about 5 × 5 × 1 cm, and six beads. I have some of this sitting on my desk and use the rest for training classes I teach—I can get a decent count rate from the blocks, and a much lower count rate from the beads. More importantly, however, is that the radiation dose rate is very low from all of them—not nearly enough to worry about. 

A good site for questions about radiation and radioactivity in more or less everyday life, is an online museum maintained by Oak Ridge Associated Universities. In the case of Vaseline glass, they provide dose rate readings from a few objects. Even the highest dose rate is nothing to be very concerned about. In fact, I measure higher dose rates when I'm in parts of the Financial District—I live in New York City—on the Brooklyn Bridge, or even in some of our cemeteries—because of all the granite used for building facades, headstones, and in the construction of the bridge (granite can be rich in naturally radioactive elements, including uranium). 

With uranium, the biggest concern is the chemical toxicity rather than the radiation—once in the blood stream, uranium can damage the kidneys. A little more than a decade ago the National Academies Press published a review of the risk faced by soldiers who were in tanks that were hit with depleted uranium antitank shells, filling the tank with uranium dust that they inhaled. The review found that, with a very few exceptions, it was unlikely that a soldier would be exposed to enough uranium to harm him or her. To put that in perspective, the review was considering inhalation, the most significant exposure pathway, of nearly pure uranium, as opposed to the typical 2% (and no more than 25%) uranium concentration in Vaseline glass.

So, taking all of this into account, I feel safe drawing a few conclusions:

  • Neither you nor your customers are at risk from the radiation given off by uranium in Vaseline glass, whether they're holding the piece or it's just sitting on a shelf or table.
  • Neither you nor your customers are at risk from uranium if you accidentally ingest or inhale dust or small chips that happen to break off.
  • And if you or your customers are inhaling or ingesting chips of glass—whether it contains uranium or not—the uranium is likely not your greatest concern!

I hope this helps!

Andrew Karam, CHP, PhD

Ask the Experts is posting answers using only SI (the International System of Units) in accordance with international practice. To convert these to traditional units we have prepared a conversion table. You can also view a diagram to help put the radiation information presented in this question and answer in perspective. Explanations of radiation terms can be found here.
Answer posted on 25 July 2020. The information posted on this web page is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may affect the applicability of concepts, materials, and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice. To the best of our knowledge, answers are correct at the time they are posted. Be advised that over time, requirements could change, new data could be made available, and Internet links could change, affecting the correctness of the answers. Answers are the professional opinions of the expert responding to each question; they do not necessarily represent the position of the Health Physics Society.