A spectroscopy system is developed to measure radiative characteristics of participating media in the spectral range of 300-1,100 nm. The system incorporates a short-arc radiation source, double monochromator, optical chopper synchronized with a lock-in amplifier, and a silicon detector. Measurements of overall spectral transmittance are performed with two types of cerium dioxide samples with average porosities of 0.08 and 0.72, respectively. For both sample types, the spectral variation of the transmittance indicates mixed contribution by absorption and scattering to the observed attenuation in the considered spectral range. All samples are characterized by high opacity to radiation up to approximately 400 nm.