AbstractData collected since 1973 show high levels of arsenic in the Yellow River, very largely from natural sources. Average and peak concentrations, and the downstream distribution of the arsenic suggest the most likely source as the loess which provides 90 per cent of the river's suspended load. Arsenic is strongly absorbed by the silt and clay in the river: some of it is deposited in reservoirs and delta sediments but most is carried out to sea.