There are no home tests kits.
If you want to test the soil for heavy metals etc, have a look in the
Yellow Pages under Laboratory Facilities
I you are buying industrial land, you will become responsible for the
bioremediation, removal of contaminated soil. If you susspect it to be
contaminated, you ought to have the soil tested by a lab first.
At a company were I used to work, we were looking to buy an old
industrial site, had a soil test done and found it loaded with all
sorts. So we left it alone. Would have been mega expensive to clear
up.
As the land you are looking at was railway, cansider the likely
contaminats. By the sounds of it, the line was axed during the Beaching
reforms, so most likely that the line was steam.
Clifford
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire