Atomic fallout used to determine age of wines
ABC Online 18/10/2001
Fallout from Australia's atomic bomb tests in the 1950s is being used to accurately
determine the age of wines.
The University of Adelaide has come up with a technique to carbon date wines - providing a
new tool in combating wine fraud.
Dr Graham Jones from the Department of Horticulture, Viticulture and Oenology says large
amounts of carbon-14 were released during atomic bomb testing which were absorbed by wine
grapes at the time.
He says with the amount in the atmosphere decreasing each year, testing can reveal the
exact year a wine was bottled.
But Dr Jones says the levels of carbon in the fruit is safe.
Editors note: Does this only apply to South Australian
wines, or is there some kind of measurement for the distance travelled by the carbon-14?
Is there a percentage figure for ALL wineries on this planet?
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