Glasses from cement kiln dust and lead barium bismuth borate were prepared by the melt quenching method
and studied by using FTIR and ultrasonic techniques before and after exposure to gamma irradiation at doses
up to 120 kGy. The FTIR results indicated a deformation of the lead borate based glasses with the replacement
of PbO by Bi2O3 which was attributed to the appearance of Bi–O stretching vibrations in [BiO6] structural units
and generated excess of non-bridging oxygens. This deformation affected the [BO3] units which are indicated
fromthe lower decreasing rate of N4 as a function of Bi2O3. The high covalency of Pb–Oand B–O bonds compared
with that of Bi–O or Si–O attracts the excess of non-bridging oxygens and resulted in a relaxation of the glass
network. The relaxation decreased the ultrasonic velocities and the bulk modulus and hence the rigidity of the
glass despite the increase of the density which was attributed to the replacement of Bi2O3 instead of PbO.
The structural and rigidity changes due to composition variations showed a decreasing manner to the effects of
radiation. The density of the glass increased while the ultrasonic velocities decreased. This behavior modulated
the compositional behavior of the elastic moduli on Bi2O3 content.