ENVIRONMICADAS: A MINI 14C AMS WITH ENHANCED GAS ION SOURCE INTERFACE IN THE HERTELENDI LABORATORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (HEKAL), HUNGARY

A more developed and modern technology replaced the old radiocarbon measuring methods in Hungary, based on isotope separation by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and not on activity measurements. In summer 2011, the EnvironMICADAS was successfully installed in the Laboratory of HEKAL, Debrecen, Hungary. In this project, a multipurpose gas-handling system was developed for the gas ion source of EnvironMICADAS at ETH Zurich, designed for the measurement of small environmental origin samples (<50 mu g carbon) with moderate precision requirements. The ultimate aim is an automated device for high sample throughput. Since its final installation and first year of operation, over 2000 graphite targets were analyzed. Long-term stability of the instrument is confirmed through measurements of the Ox-II standard and processed blank targets during the first half of 2012.