title: Leaching of uranium from glass and ceramic foodware and decorative items.
abstract: Beginning as early as the first century A. D. and continuing until at least the 1970s, uranium was used as a coloring agent in glass and in ceramic glazes. The leaching of uranium from such items is of interest as some were designed for food storage or serving. Thirty-three glass items and two ceramic items were leached sequentially with deionized water, dilute acetic acid, and 1 M nitric acid to assess realistic and worst-case scenario leaching by foods and beverages. The maximum quantity of uranium leached from the uranium-bearing glasses was about 30 micrograms L-1, while that from the ceramic-glazed items was about 300,000 micrograms L-1.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA 22092.
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Landa
authors.forename: T B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Councell
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates; D019342:Acetic Acid; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D003297:Cooking and Eating Utensils; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D009566:Nitrates; D017942:Nitric Acid; D014501:Uranium / Q000032:analysis*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D009566:Nitrates; D014867:Water; D017942:Nitric Acid; D014501:Uranium; D019342:Acetic Acid