Preventing and Removing Contamination in a Natural Radiocarbon Sample Preparation Laboratory [electronic resource].
- Published:
- Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 2002.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy. - Physical Description:
- PDF-FILE: 7 ; SIZE: 41.7 KBYTES pages
- Additional Creators:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Access Online
- Restrictions on Access:
- Free-to-read Unrestricted online access
- Summary:
- The introduction of elevated ¹⁴C contamination into a natural radiocarbon sample preparation laboratory can occur through many different pathways. The most difficult to control is the introduction of contaminated samples from outside labs. Laboratories can remain ¹⁴C contaminated as a result of earlier tracer based research, even if ''hot'' work has not occurred in the laboratories in decades. Prior to accepting samples from outside collaborators, it is recommended that the collaborators test their labs for ¹⁴C contamination. Any surface in a lab that has high use by multiple people has the potential to be contaminated. The standard procedure for determining whether a collaborator's lab is contaminated consists of swiping lab surfaces with small glass fiber filters wetted with alcohol and measuring them for ¹⁴C content using AMS. Volatile ¹⁴C can be detected by using aerosol monitors consisting of fine soot that is depleted in ¹⁴C. These monitors can be set out in the laboratory in question to check for volatile ¹⁴C contamination. In the event that a hot sample is introduced in the natural radiocarbon sample prep laboratory, all sample submission should be stopped until the lab is declared clean. Samples already being processed should be completed along with ¹⁴C depleted material and measured by AMS. This will help determine if the contaminated samples have affected other samples in the laboratory. After a contamination event, the laboratory and associated equipment requires cleaning or disposal. All surfaces and equipment should be wiped down with acetone or ethanol. All chemicals in use should be disposed of in the appropriate waste containers and those waste containers removed from the lab. Once the natural radiocarbon laboratory has been thoroughly ''cleaned'', several background samples consisting of ¹⁴C depleted material should be processed through the lab and measured by AMS before unknown samples are processed again.
- Report Numbers:
- E 1.99:ucrl-jc-149826
ucrl-jc-149826 - Subject(s):
- Other Subject(s):
- Note:
- Published through SciTech Connect.
10/25/2002.
"ucrl-jc-149826"
9th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Nagoya (JP), 09/09/2002--09/13/2002.
Brown, T A; Heller, S J; Buchholz, B A; Frantz, B R; Kashgarian, M; Zermeno, P; Kurdyla, D K. - Funding Information:
- W-7405-ENG-48
View MARC record | catkey: 14136161