The chief objective of this paper is to improve our understanding of the Neolithic in Eastern Hungary using absolute chronological data. To accomplish this we calibrated new measurements as well as previously published dates. The up-to-date, standardized evaluation of 261 calibrated measurements showed temporal overlaps between archaeological cultures defined on the basis of ceramic styles. The increasing number of dates suggest that the Neolithic period began at the turn of the 6th and 7th millennia bc and lasted for ca. 1500 yr in the present area of the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld). Further research should be aimed at complementing the current data set with dates from western Hungary and establishing additional correlations among stratigraphic, typological and radiocarbon dates.

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The activity of radiocarbon in 14CO2 and 14CnHm chemical forms is measured in the vicinity of Paks nuclear power plant (NPP), Hungary, by sampling environmental air. Four differential sampling units at different sites collected samples less than 2 km away from the 100-m-high stacks of Paks NPP, and for reference a sampler was operated at a station ∼30 km away from Paks NPP. We present the results of continuous observations at the 5 stations covering the time span from 2000 to 2005. The samples have been analyzed by a proportional counting technique. During a cleaning tank incident at unit 2 of Paks NPP in April 2003, a significant release of radioactive isotopes took place from the damaged fuel assemblies, and gaseous products escaped through the chimney. We evaluate the possible short- and long-term impact of this incident on the 14C content of the atmosphere in the surroundings of Paks NPP. Comparing our 14CO2 measurements with data sets from Jungfraujoch and Schauinsland, as well as from Košetice (Czech Republic), we demonstrate that the incident had no definite influence on the 14C content of the atmosphere.

ABSTRACT. We measured airborne releases of 14C from the Paks Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).Ttvo continuous stack samplers collect 14C in 14C02 and 14CnHm chemical forms. 14C activities were measured using two techniques; environmental air samples of lower activities were analyzed by proportional counting, stack samples were measured by liquid scintillation counting. 14C concentration of air in the stack varies between 80 and 200 Bqm-3. The average normalized yearly discharge rates for 1988-1993 were 0.74 TBqGW1y1 1y-1 for hydrocarbons and 0.06 TBqGW1y1 1y-1 for CO2.The discharge rate from Paks Nuclear Power Plant is about four times higher than the mean discharge value of a typical Western European PWR NPP. The higher 14C production may be apportioned to the higher level of nitrogen impurities in the primary coolant. Monitoring the long-term average excess from the NPP gave D14C = 3.5%o for CO2 and D14C = 20%o for hydrocarbons. We determined 14C activity concentration in the primary coolant to be ca. 4 kBq liter-1. The 14C activity concentrations of spent mixed bed ion exchange resins vary between 1.2 and 5.3 MBgkg-1 dry weight.

Ciomadul is the youngest volcano in the Carpathian‐Pannonian Region, Eastern‐Central Europe, which last erupted 30 ka. This volcano is considered to be inactive, however, combined evidence from petrologic and magnetotelluric data, as well as seismic tomography studies, suggests the existence of a subvolcanic crystal mush with variable melt content. The volcanic area is characterized by high CO2 gas output rate, with a minimum of 8.7 × 103 t/year. We investigated 31 gas emissions at Ciomadul to constrain the origin of the volatiles. The δ13C–CO2 and 3He/4He compositions suggest the outgassing of a significant component of mantle‐derived fluids. The He isotope signature in the outgassing fluids (up to 3.10 Ra) is lower than the values in the peridotite xenoliths of the nearby alkaline basalt volcanic field (R/Ra 5.95 Ra ± 0.01), which are representative of a continental lithospheric mantle and significantly lower than MORB values. Considering the chemical characteristics of the Ciomadul dacite, including trace element and Sr–Nd and O isotope compositions, an upper crustal contamination is less probable, whereas the primary magmas could have been derived from an enriched mantle source. The low He isotopic ratios could indicate a strongly metasomatized mantle lithosphere. This could be due to infiltration of subduction‐related fluids and postmetasomatic ingrowth of radiogenic He. The metasomatic fluids are inferred to have contained subducted carbonate material resulting in a heavier carbon isotope composition (δ13C is in the range of −1.4‰ to −4.6‰) and an increase of CO2/3He ratio. Our study shows the magmatic contribution to the emitted gases.