Q:I have a six-piece dresser set of Val St. Lambert's uranium glass from the 1890s. Since it has uranium in it, is it safe?

A:Uranium glass was first made in the 1800s by adding uranium dioxide to melted glass. The uranium gives the glass its bright yellow-green color and makes it fluoresce under ultra-violet light. Most uranium glass contains only a small amount of uranium, although older glass may contain as much as 25 percent uranium. The amount of uranium in the glass will set off a Geiger counter, but it is not considered unsafe to use. Production of uranium glass ceased during World War II, when uranium was not available for nongovernmental use. Small amounts of uranium are available today and some uranium glass is being made.