SOIL TESTING AND ANALYSIS MADE EASY
Whether you want to test your soil for quality, contamination or both, Safe Soil UK has your testing needs in hand!
1. Choose your preferred testing package from the selection below (scroll right to see more choices or click Order Test Kit above) - they start at £100.
2. We'll send you a kit that includes instructions on how to collect a soil sample from your growing space.
3. Return the sample to our UKAS-accredited lab in the provided container (s) - the postage is pre-paid.
4. We’ll analyse it and send you the results, usually within 10 days, along with an in-depth report.
Britain’s proud industrial and farming heritage left behind a legacy of contamination with countless substances and waste products that can harm our health discharged into the ground. Our testing packages can give you peace of mind that your growing space is safe and/or fertile.
Why chance it?
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Safe Soil UK provides quality testing services in the United Kingdom. Our services range from checking the quality of your soil to help your garden thrive to in-depth soil testing for potentially health-harming contaminants. Browse our website to find out more about us, and get in touch with any additional questions or to learn more at contact@safesoil.co.uk
OUR LABS
We work exclusively with UK industry-standard laboratories using modern technologies that are UKAS accredited and adhere to the Environment Agency MCERTS Performance Standard for soils ensuring accurate test results.
OUR MISSION
We believe the testing of urban soils should be easy to do - and, in turn, the results of this testing should be straightforward to understand. The interpretation of soil test results can be muddied by the fact that sometimes scientists - and government agencies - disagree. When that is the case, we will highlight any discrepancies to give the clearest possible illustration of any potential risks lurking in your soil.
OUR HEALTH
Soil contaminated with high levels of heavy metals such as lead and mercury can cause a variety of severe health issues including organ damage, cancer, hampering growth and development of our kids, damage to the nervous system and, indeed, even death.
A BIT ABOUT US
Curiosity may have killed the cat but it went a long way to helping us root out potentially harmful contaminants in our own London garden. As long-time gardening enthusiasts, we take an interest in our (admittedly tiny bit of) soil and its impact on the flowers and vegetables we grow every year. This took a sinister turn when we came across a local rumour that a site near our house was once a battery factory. At this point, our interest started to extend beyond soil basics like pH and texture and on to toxic elements that may be lurking beneath our feet.
There’s no disputing that the UK’s industrial heritage has left behind a legacy of contaminated land. We are descendants of a people who were at the sharp end of the industrial revolution and while this played an important part in establishing the living standards we now enjoy, there was a darker downside as the very industrial processes and activities that made Britain one of the wealthiest nations on earth also released substances and waste products into the environment that have the potential to have a detrimental impact on our health.
Be soil safe with Safe Soil UK
What if our little annual harvests of veg and flowers were actually serving up cocktails of lead, arsenic, chromium and other unsavoury (to say the least) elements while our time tending the fledgling crops was exposing us to airborne samples of dioxins, hydrocarbons and even asbestos? Posing that question marked the germination of Safe Soil UK, which aims to make the testing of urban soils easy, affordable (the science involved in the testing is never going to be cheap but we’re doing our best) and also help interpret the results using UK government standards where they’re available and relying on international guidelines to fill in any blanks.
Don’t chance it, test it!
When we started our journey in search of peace of mind that our little patch of land was not slowly killing us, we hit a roadblock. There is no shortage of laboratories capable of testing soil but many of these charged a fortune. Then there was the problem of what we actually wanted to test for. The list of harmful chemicals and elements that a lab could test for is a long one. Which ones should we be testing for? And finally, how much of something is too much? The answers to these questions required extensive research but we got there in the end. And while no health authority can make a definitive call on the precise amount at which something becomes harmful or even lethal, most agree on ranges. We use these to interpret your results and where conflicts exist, we point them out to allow you, our customers, to make informed decisions and, hopefully, provide peace of mind. When that’s not possible, we are happy to share recommendations on potential remediation approaches.
We’re glad you’ve found us and we hope to make your own journey of discovery markedly easier than the one we had to take.
PRICING UPDATE 2024
Although we froze our prices throughout 2023, the relentless rises in energy, equipment and chemical costs over the past two years forced our hand at the outset of this year. We know that price rises are never pleasant but we hope to be able to keep them where they are for many years ahead.
Please also note that our pricing model has changed so that VAT will no longer be added at checkout - the listed price of each testing package is the full amount due. Also, as ever, shipping and postage remains included in the cost.
GET IN TOUCH
Questions, comments or requests? Feel free to contact us, we’d love to hear from you.
