raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by raindancer on Feb 18, 2015 23:06:40 GMT
This topic came up in one of my classes the other day and I was surprised with all the threads on this topic over the years I hadn't heard about it before.  If you have red dishes pre-1973, the glaze used was made from uranium. I always wonder how many people buy it new vs. thrifting, online sales, etc. Random little tidbit. |
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Post by anxiousmom on Feb 18, 2015 23:33:10 GMT
My grandmother had some of the original pieces, but we never used them because of this.
I was never a big fan, but I dated a guy for a while in college who was close to his faculty adviser. We were invited to dinner one night and they had a huge collection they used as decoration in the kitchen. It was actually pretty, in the context of their home which had a ton of Mexican tile and pottery. This was way before the new stuff came out, but in a discussion with the wife, she told me how much she loved it but disappointed to not be able to really use it.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Feb 18, 2015 23:35:12 GMT
my sister has a huge collection of original Fiesta Ware... she has always used it, I think. (except maybe not the mixing bowls very often, since some of them are kinda rare.) ETA: maybe she doesn't use it all that regularly after all-- but according to this article it's not just Fiesta that was made with radioactive glazes. ETA #2: I also found another article from the LA Times that contained this quote: "Responding to a warning by New York state health authorities about the danger of uranium leaching from orange Fiesta ware, the FDA said in 1981 that the "levels of radioactive material in ceramic tableware are not considered hazardous." so who knows? It is interesting to think about, and I never really thought about the other antique items that could contain radioactive materials, either... |
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Grom Pea
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Post by Grom Pea on Feb 18, 2015 23:47:06 GMT
I don't but my chemistry teacher showedus how it makes a geiger counter click and that storing it in a paper bag is enough to keep you safe.
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Post by anonrefugee on Feb 19, 2015 1:09:48 GMT
I always thought that was an urban legend and the real issue was lead.
Ohh the things Pea Refugees teach me!
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AmeliaBloomer
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Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Feb 19, 2015 1:22:20 GMT
The timing of this thread is killing me.
Just today, I had an urge to stop at Salvation Army. I had a feeling I'd find something good, which in itself was weird 'cause I generally don't get hunches.
What did I spy at the bottom of a pile? A Vintage Fiesta red plate! Didn't really want it, but seemed wrong not to grab it for $1.96. It's still in my car, off-gassing radon.
I have a ton of Vintage Fiesta. Also Riviera (same glazes). ("Radioactive") Red, which is really orange, is my least favorite, but is prized by most collectors. HLC just recreated it ("Poppy") in their P86 Fiesta. Still not my cup of tea.
Speaking of tea, you're not supposed to eat acidic foods from red Fiesta - or any of the old glazes, actually. Acid ups the leeching, as do cracks. Some people refuse to have red Fiesta in their homes. Meh.
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AmeliaBloomer
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Feb 19, 2015 1:29:45 GMT
I always thought that was an urban legend and the real issue was lead. Ohh the things Pea Refugees teach me! I think it's both lead and a small amount of uranium. LOTS of old dinnerware and glassware has lead. Fiesta makes a big deal now about Made in America and lead free. Dinnerware currently manufactured in China is still very suspect. |
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jayfab
Drama Llama
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Post by jayfab on Feb 19, 2015 1:30:30 GMT
Nope, mine is newer.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Feb 19, 2015 3:54:59 GMT
$1.96??? totally worth the out-gassing for THAT price, AmeliaBloomer!!  |
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Post by workingclassdog on Feb 19, 2015 4:27:57 GMT
I wish!!! It's highly collectible!! I would find out how to store it though! |
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oaksong
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Post by oaksong on Feb 19, 2015 7:56:49 GMT
I don't have any that's radioactive, but I do have some vintage plates. I purposely avoid buying vintage bowls and cups. It's interesting to know that even the new red reacts with acidic foods.
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AmeliaBloomer
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Feb 19, 2015 12:16:34 GMT
I don't have any that's radioactive, but I do have some vintage plates. I purposely avoid buying vintage bowls and cups. It's interesting to know that even the new red reacts with acidic foods. No, just the Vintage Fiesta glazes, especially "Red." All P86 is lead free - with no bonus uranium.  Sorry, I believe everyone speaks my vintage language, where "red" means old and orange! BTW: the FDA has not outlawed lead in dinnerware. If it's lead-free, it will say so. But there are very few US manufacturers. Which leads us to China... |
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by raindancer on Feb 19, 2015 14:37:17 GMT
my sister has a huge collection of original Fiesta Ware... she has always used it, I think. (except maybe not the mixing bowls very often, since some of them are kinda rare.) ETA: maybe she doesn't use it all that regularly after all-- but according to this article it's not just Fiesta that was made with radioactive glazes. ETA #2: I also found another article from the LA Times that contained this quote: "Responding to a warning by New York state health authorities about the danger of uranium leaching from orange Fiesta ware, the FDA said in 1981 that the "levels of radioactive material in ceramic tableware are not considered hazardous." so who knows? It is interesting to think about, and I never really thought about the other antique items that could contain radioactive materials, either... Yeah i thought this was intereating when we covered it. We also used a Geiger counter. Another thing that I found inte re sting was how exit signs that are used all over still are full of it because they glow even without electricity. So think hospitals, large office buildings, etc... I also am confused by the FDA statement since its a carcinogenic exposure, any amount could cause harm. There is no threshold.I wonder what their motivation was, if they have since revised their decision, and who made it. |
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Post by agengr2004 on Feb 19, 2015 15:04:49 GMT
I have a set of the radioactive Fiesta Red and I also have a couple of pieces of old Vaseline Glass that is also radioactive and will glow under UV light. I keep mine in a box in a closet, the exposure rate out of them is so low there's no special storage necessary.
I'm a health physicist and I use the pieces I have for training. It's a good attention getter.
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Post by librarylady on Feb 19, 2015 15:16:24 GMT
Back in the 1950s folks would sit in uranium to help with arthritis pain.
I remember driving by one on a Family outing. It looked like a kids sand box with benches around the box, a shade overhead. People sat and put their feet in sand that had uranium in it. I wonder how many of them developed cancer...and how long that "fad" lasted.
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Post by librarylady on Feb 19, 2015 15:17:03 GMT
Back in the 1950s folks would sit in uranium to help with arthritis pain.
I remember driving by one on a Family outing. It looked like a kid's sand box with benches around the box, a shade overhead. People sat and put their feet in sand that had uranium in it. I wonder how many of them developed cancer...and how long that "fad" lasted.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Feb 19, 2015 15:26:54 GMT
Back in the 1950s folks would sit in uranium to help with arthritis pain. I remember driving by one on a Family outing. It looked like a kid's sand box with benches around the box, a shade overhead. People sat and put their feet in sand that had uranium in it. I wonder how many of them developed cancer...and how long that "fad" lasted. huh-- I never heard of such a thing! ...off to Google it, now... (this really random kind of stuff is interesting to me!) And I never knew that Exit signs were still made of it! ...all the things I learn here in Pea-land, lol!! |
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MerryMom
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by MerryMom on Feb 19, 2015 16:51:45 GMT
I have the old red Fiesta which I got from my grandmother. I eat ice cream from the bowl.
My mom was a radiation technician for 45 years (through pregnancies with us) and when she had to go to work after hours to do xrays due to accidents or emergencies, we stood behind the lead shield with her while she took films, and also sat in the developing room while she developed films and inhaled those fumes.
In middle school, I played with mercury.
I'm doomed.
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peaname
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by peaname on Feb 19, 2015 20:18:56 GMT
Now where did I put my geiger counter?
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oaksong
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Post by oaksong on Feb 19, 2015 21:39:54 GMT
I don't have any that's radioactive, but I do have some vintage plates. I purposely avoid buying vintage bowls and cups. It's interesting to know that even the new red reacts with acidic foods. No, just the Vintage Fiesta glazes, especially "Red." All P86 is lead free - with no bonus uranium. Sorry, I believe everyone speaks my vintage language, where "red" means old and orange! BTW: the FDA has not outlawed lead in dinnerware. If it's lead-free, it will say so. But there are very few US manufacturers. Which leads us to China... Thanks for clarifying. I'm glad I'm not killing my family by serving dinner on red Fiesta plates. They're Scarlet – big difference! |
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Post by montanacowgirl on Feb 19, 2015 22:20:10 GMT
We have multiple uranium mines here open, folks come from all over the world to sit in them. I've been down two just to get a look.
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