The radiation shielding and optical properties of xBi2O3:(100-x)SiO2, xPbO:(100-x)SiO2 and xBaO:(100-
x)SiO2 glass systems (where 30 6 x 6 70 is the composition by weight%) have been investigated. Total
mass attenuation coefficients (lm) of glasses at 662 keV were improved by increasing their Bi2O3 and
PbO content, which raised the photoelectric absorption in glass matrices. Raising the BaO content to
the same fraction range, however, brought no significant change to lm. These results indicate that photon
is strongly attenuated in Bi2O3 and PbO containing glasses, and but not in BaO containing glass. The
results from the optical absorption spectra show an edge that was not sharply defined; clearly indicating
the amorphous nature of glass samples. It is observed that the cutoff wavelength for Bi2O3 containing
glass was longer than PbO and BaO containing glasses.