AixMICADAS, the accelerator mass spectrometer dedicated to 14C recently installed in Aix-en-Provence, France

A sequential leaching was applied to a young carbonate sample (ca. 6600 years BP) whose 14C age agrees with previous determination and which shows no sign of significant surface contamination. By contrast, the tests also show that the leached CO2 from very old carbonates is significantly “younger” than the residual sample. This study, though preliminary, already confirms that pretreatment by acid leaching of old carbonates is essential if we are to accurately measure the true age of such samples.