Factors governing selection of a method for the determination of plutonium include available quantity of sample, sample purity, desired level of reliability, and equipment.

4.1.1 This test method determines 5 to 10 mg of plutonium with prior dissolution using Practice C 1168.

4.1.2 This test method calculates plutonium assay using physical constants as reference standards.

4.1.3 Chemical standards are used for quality control when prior chemical separation of plutonium is necessary to remove interferences (9).

Committee C-26 Safeguards Statement⁴ :

4.2.1 The materials (plutonium metal, plutonium oxide or mixed oxide [(U, Pu) O₂] powders and pellets) to which this test method applies are subject to nuclear safeguards regulations governing their possession and use. Materials for use by the commercial nuclear community must also meet compositional specifications.

4.2.2 The analytical method in this test method both meets U. S. Department of Energy guidelines for acceptability of a measurement method for generation of safeguards accountability measurement data and also provides data that may be used to demonstrate specification compliance in buyer-seller interactions.