Commissioning of a Quantulus 1220™ Liquid Scintillation Beta Spectrometer for Measuring 14C and 3H at Natural Abundance Levels

Jacek Pawlyta, Anna Pazdur, Andrzej Z. Rakowski, Brian F. Miller and Douglas D. Harkness

In 1994, the Gliwice Radiocarbon Laboratory began operating a liquid scintillation spectrometry system, consisting of a Quantulus 1220™ spectrometer and two vacuum rigs for benzene production. This paper describes the procedures used for the benzene synthesis from samples containing < 1 g of carbon and in the range 1 to 10 g of carbon. We also present the Quantulus calibration procedures used in the Gliwice Radiocarbon Laboratory and NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory, and compare the calibration parameters.

[Radiocarbon Volume 40, Numbers 1-2, 1998]