Uranium tile Uranium tile Uranium tiles have been used in the ceramics industry for many centuries, as uranium oxide makes an excellent ceramic glaze, and is reasonably abundant on the earth's crust. Not long after Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in uranium salts, Madame Curie discovered both polonium and radium as two new radioactive elements also present with uranium. The relatively high specific activity and moderate half-life of 1,600 years of Ra-226, the main radioisotope of radium found in uranium ore, made for a material which when mixed with a phosphor allowed for a glow-in-the-dark substance. Thus, in addition to its medical usage,
Naturally occurring radioactive material UK regulation is via the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales)Regulations 2010. This defines two types of NORM activity: (a)the production and use of thorium, or thorium compounds, and the production of products where thorium is deliberately added; or (b)the production and use of uranium or uranium compounds, and the production of products where uranium is deliberately added (a)the extraction, production and use of rare earth elements and rare earth element alloys; (b)the mining and processing of ores other than uranium ore; (c)the production of oil and gas; (d)the removal and management of radioactive scales and precipitates from equipment associated with