This study focused on the environmental risk of steel making slag itself, arsenic removal mechanism and re-leaching possibility of arsenic to aqueous state after the adsorption. The purpose of the study is to promote the use of steel making slag as a low-cost adsorbent for arsenic in aqueous system. Calcium was easily dissolved out from the slag and become the dominant substance in the leachate. Some of the calcium could form amorphous calcium carbonate in alkaline condition, and arsenic in the aqueous solution would be removed by being co-precipitated with or adsorbed onto the amorphous calcium carbonate. Most of the amorphous calcium carbonate containing arsenic would be bound to amorphous iron oxide of the slag. When the slag was used as an adsorbent for arsenic removal, a little amount of toxic chemicals were leached from the slag itself under pH 0.8 to 13.6. Also, 70-80% of arsenic laden on the slag was bound to amorphous iron oxide which would not easily desorb unless given a reducing and complexing condition. Showing 95-100% removal efficiency near initial pH 2, the slag, therefore, could be used as an appropriate adsorbent for eliminating arsenic in acidic aqueous solution. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.