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The age of plutonium is defined as the time since the last separation of the plutonium isotopes from their daughter nuclides. In this paper, a method for age determination based on analysis of 241 Pu/ 241 Am and 240 Pu/ 236 Pu using ICP-SFMS is described. Separation of Pu and Am was performed using a solid phase extraction procedure including UTEVA, TEVA, TRU and Ln-resins. The procedure provided separation factors adequate for this purpose. Age determinations were performed on two plutonium reference solutions from the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, IRMM081 ( 239 Pu) and IRMM083 ( 240 Pu), on sediment from the Marshall Islands (reference material IAEA367) and on soil from the Trinity test site (Trinitite). The measured ages based on the 241 Am/ 241 Pu ratio corresponded well with the time since the last parent-daughter separations of all the materials. The ages derived from the 236 U/ 240 Pu ratio were in agreement for the IRMM materials, but for IAEA367 the determination of 236 U was interfered by tailing from 238 U, and for Trinitite the determined age was biased due to formation of 236 U in the detonation of the "Gadget".

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