Columbia River sediment was irradiated with ultraviolet light to determine if organic material could be removed without altering the sorptive properties of the hydrous oxides of iron and manganese. A laboratory preparation of Zn-65 spiked hydrous ferric oxide was subjected to ultraviolet irradiation in order to assess the photochemical effect upon Zn-65 release. The photochemically induced release of Mn-54 present on the Columbia River sediment was used to assess the effect on the hydrous oxides of manganese. The ultraviolet irradiation proved effective in removing up to 68% of the sedimentary organic material in 17 hours without causing release of Zn-65 or Sc-46. While the ultraviolet irradiation had no effect upon Zn-65 release from laboratory preparations of hydrous ferric oxides and Zn-65 spiked montmorillonite, a significant release of Mn-54 resulted from the photolysis treatment. The removal of Mn-54 was not accompanied by the release of sorbed Zn-65 or Sc-46 (nuclides expected to be sorbed by hydrous oxides), nor did there appear to be any permanent change in the nature of the Mn-54 on the sediment. Although it is possible that the hydrous oxides of manganese are affected by the ultraviolet treatment, it is likely that another species, such as the carbonate, is the species involved. Photo-oxidation appears to provide a method of obtaining sediments with substantially reduced organic content without affecting the sorptive properties of hydrous oxides or clay minerals. This result should allow the use of uptake studies to determine the importance of organic material in trace metal sorption by sediments.