Polypropylene non-woven fabrics were grafted with glycidyl methacrylate by the electron beam irradiation method and the introduced epoxide rings were chemically conversed to hydroxyl and thiol groups. The modified polypropylene fabrics showed sufficient hydrophilicity to adsorb the metal ions from the aqueous solutions. The modified fibers were examined as adsorbents for metal ions dissolved in seawater and its model solutions at various conditions. The amount of ions adsorbed on the fabrics was determined by a sequential plasma spectrometry. The modified polypropylene fabrics adsorbed extremely high amount of Au(III) and Hg(II) ions. The equilibrium adsorption of Au(III) was almost not disturbed, even if Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II) and the other ions coexisted in the same aqueous solution. Nowadays, the most widely advantages of this technique are the recovery of metal ions dissolved in water and the treatment of industrial wastewater systems. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.