Overuse of agrochemicals, combined with a suite of little controlled industrial activities, have resulted in metal(loid) contamination of agricultural soils in many parts of the world with often serious impacts on human health and the environment. The Dry Zone of Sri Lanka has one of the world’s highest incidents of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with more than 30,000 reported related deaths. Exposure to cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) sourced from the agrochemicals used in rice farming has been proposed as one of the possible causes. The aims of this study were, to examine As and Cd in the soils and rice seeds of dry zone Sri Lanka and to understand factors influencing contaminant sorption and risk. Surface soil samples (0–15 cm) were collected using grid systematic sampling for two consecutive years (2017 and 2018) from four different locations including three CKD hotspots Giradurukotte (G), Madawachchiya (M) and Padaviya (P) and a non-affected area Hambanthota (H) in the Dry Zone, Sri Lanka. Soils for each sampling location were characterised and analysed for total Cd and As as well as other trace elements. Rice seeds from the four (4) locations were also analysed. Subsequently, a series of sorption experiments using two soils, sandy loam (pH = 7.25) (A) and sandy clay loam (pH = 4.95) (B) with similar characteristics to dry zone soil in Sri Lanka were used to understand factors influencing the concentrations and mobilisation of the two contaminants in the Sri Lankan soils. All data was analysed with R version 3.5.0. For the field soils in 2017, the mean As and Cd concentrations were 0.99 mg kg^-1 (0.00-3.50 mg kg^-1) and 0.63 mg kg^-1 (0.00-7.32 mg kg^-1), respectively. There were a significant differences in Cd (H = 94.13, df = 3, p<0.001) and As concentrations (H = 33.03, df = 3, p<0.001) between sampling locations. In 2018 results showed significantly (p<0.05) elevated soil As (1.58 mg kg^-1 (0.00-3.85 mg kg^-1)) and Cd (2.19 mg kg^-1 (1.20-11.21 mg kg^-1)) at all locations compared to 2017. Nevertheless, the As and Cd concentrations detected in all samples collected in dry zone paddy soils were less than sensitive land use health investigation levels (HIL) in Australia (As-100 mg kg^-1 and Cd-20 mg kg^-1). The As/Cd concentrations of rice samples were all ≤ 0.1mg kg^-1, and less than food standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) guideline values for Cd (0.1 mg kg^-1) and As (1 mg kg^-1) in rice. The sorption of As and Cd on Soil A and B were best-fit with the Freundlich model. The sorption experiments revealed that soil pH had an important influence on As and Cd Kd values, with significantly lower As sorption in soil A, and lower Cd sorption in the more acidic Soil B. Synergistic and antagonistic effects on sorption of the co-occurring contaminants were evident. This represents the first systematic study of As and Cd in some of the CKD affected areas in Sri Lanka. The paddy soils sampled were indeed slightly contaminated but not to concentrations that would be expected to result in significant risk. The sorption experiments showed that the contaminant concentrations in the soils were directly affected by the soil and the co-contaminant. To fully understand the risk presented by As and Cd in the affected environment, and the factors that may be influencing concentrations in soils and the wider environment additional work should target.