Arsenic release and its kinetic in severely contaminated stream sediments of the Kyjov brook and impoundment material (eastern Slovakia) using column and batch experiments was studied. The results of the column experiments showed that As release from the solid samples by water was likely controlled by Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides and pH of the sediments and leachates. It was also observed that extraction time was an important factor influencing the As release. The empirical correlations between the rate constants of As release and oxalate-extractable Fe content or total Mn content imply that diffusion in hydrated micropores of amorphous Fe and Mn oxides might be the rate-limiting mechanism of the As release. Although the fractions of As released in column experiments were generally less than 10% of its total contents, these low fractions represented high absolute amounts of readily available and water-soluble As with a mean value of 83 mg kg-1. This amount of readily available As is approximately 4-times higher than the guideline value for As according to DEFRA UK, based upon “bioavailable “concentration, indicating high As availability for plants and living organisms in the studied region.