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An Assessment of Laboratory Contamination at the Isotrace Radiocarbon Facility

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

D M Gurfinkel
D M Gurfinkel*
Affiliation:
Collegium Archaeometricum, c/o Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario Canada, M5S 1A4
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Abstract

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An assessment of the contamination contribution of various sample preparation procedures used at the Isotrace Radiocarbon Facility, University of Toronto, is described. Samples of geologic material, millions of years old, or samples derived therefrom, were tested because these would presumably contain only dead carbon. Results showed, however, that 14C contamination could be detected in several samples, complicating the contamination assessment. Best estimates of the contamination contribution from sample preparation were reported as: cracking: <0.17% modern, acetylene synthesis: <0.25% modern, combustion: <0.39% modern, and handling: <0.54% modern. These estimates were reported as upper limits because they likely represented 14C derived from two sources: sample preparation and the sample itself.

Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , 1987 , pp. 335 - 346
Copyright
Copyright © The American Journal of Science 

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