In this study we have combined batch sorption and laser spectroscopic investigations to study the sorption of Eu(III) and Cm(III), on the aluminum oxide corundum in single-and multimetal systems. Experiments were performed using a constant equilibrium time as a function of pH (pH-edges) or at constant pH as a function of equilibrium time (kinetic experiments) in 0.01 M NaClO 4 and carbonate free conditions. The objective was to investigate how the sorption behavior of trivalent actinides and lanthanides is affected by the presence of another trivalent metal, Y(III). Our hypothesis was that the addition of higher concentrations of trivalent Y(III) together with a chemically similar trivalent metal, Eu(III) or Cm(III), would affect the sorption behavior of that metal. Batch experiments show that when the concentration of competing Y(III) is high enough (1×10-4 M) to occupy most of the surface sites, there is a clear shift in the position of the Eu(III) pH-edge to higher pH. Spectroscopic