The corrosion susceptibilities of buried steel in natural soil and laboratory simulated buried steel in varied soil textures were monitored by weight loss and corrosion product count technique. The result shows that the corrosion product counts in these soils are in the order: clay much greater than sand < loam. Adsorption dynamics revealed that Weber and Morris equation was obeyed in all soil textures studied while the applicability of Lagergren equation was limited to sandy and clay soil textures. Also, in the absence of insidious ions, fairly identical pH values, limited aeration and moisture laden, soil depth and textures were corroborated for the observed high corrosion susceptibility of the buried steel. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.