Sample preparation for the determination of radiocalcium by accelerator mass spectrometry

An accelerator mass spectrometric (AMS) technique has been developed for determining ⁴¹Ca/⁴⁰Ca ratios at terrestrial levels of 10^?16?10^?14. Calcium is extracted as calcium oxide from bone and rock samples. The calcium oxide is converted into calcium metal and subsequently into calcium hydride in a two-step reduction process. From these calcium hydride samples 5–10 μA of a negative-ion beam of CaH^?₃ is produced. A new gas-ionization detector and a high-resolution velocity detector allow discrimination against ⁴¹K and the stable isotopes of Ca, resulting in background levels of less than 6 × 10^?16. Hence it is possible (for the first time without pre-enrichment) to study the distribution of ⁴¹Ca in the terrestrial environment. The AMS method for ⁴¹Ca determination is applicable to samples of less than 1 g.