The first Czech laboratory of accelerator mass spectrometry

16. 05. 2022

Scientists at the Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS have the first-ever laboratory of accelerator mass spectrometry in the Czech Republic. In the presence of the President of the CAS Eva Zažímalová and the Minister of Science, Research and Innovation Helena Langšádlová, the laboratory was inaugurated today on the premises in Řež. The Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) method is used, for example, to determine the age of archaeological objects, to monitor the climate development or to observe nuclear weapons non-proliferation safeguards.

This special type of mass spectrometry allows the determination of long-lived radionuclides of certain elements, in particular beryllium (¹⁰Be), carbon (¹⁴C), aluminium (²⁶Al), uranium (U), plutonium (Pu), and fission products (mainly technetium ⁹⁹Tc, and iodine ¹²⁹I) at concentrations up to a million times lower than by measuring their radioactive conversion. These radionuclides are produced both by natural processes, mainly by the effect of cosmic rays, and by human activities, especially in the use of nuclear energy for power generation, but also in weapons of mass destruction.

To be able to use it in as many applications as possible, the new AMS laboratory is equipped with a high-quality MILEA (Multi-Isotope Low-Energy AMS system) accelerator developed in collaboration of the Swiss company Ionplus AG and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich). The MILEA allows not only to determine the above-listed radionuclides but also to measure the calcium radionuclide (⁴¹Ca) and other rare radionuclides.

Due to the low terminal voltage of 300 kV, the operation of the accelerator is also economical. The funds for the construction and equipment of the new laboratory, amounting to almost 400 million CZK, were provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic under the operational programme Research, Development and Education.

The opening ceremony was attended not only by the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences Eva Zažímalová and the Minister Helena Langšádlová, but also by other guests from the workplaces of the CAS, universities and a number of institutions dealing with cultural heritage.

Determining the age of objects or ice

The best-known use of the AMS method for ¹⁴C radiocarbon dating is in archaeology, cultural heritage research and other fields, such as palaeobotany. Even miniature samples containing only a few micrograms of carbon are sufficient for the AMS dating, and their analysis can determine the age of the objects under study up to approximately 60,000 years into the past. The use of ¹⁴C measurements is also important to determine the age of ice and the glacier movement, and to monitor the climate changes.

For dating events of longer ages, say throughout the Quaternary period, ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al measurements can be used to detect sudden geological changes caused by, for example, tectonic breaks, volcanic eruptions, rock avalanches, tsunamis, meteor impacts or earthquakes. These measurements also allow us to monitor the development of the climate and landscape, determine the age of archaeological stone finds and to date meteorites. Measurements of actinide isotopes, especially ²³⁶U, and fission products, especially ¹²⁹I, have applications in the study of environmental pollution and in oceanographic studies.

Monitoring of U and Pu isotopes is important in nuclear forensics and in observing compliance with nuclear weapons and materials non-proliferation safeguards. However, the applications of the AMS method are many: from industrial applications to the search for supernova remnants.

The first Czech laboratory of accelerator mass spectrometry

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