Even so, Penn State's drinking water always has been within the safe levels set by federal and state environmental agencies, Fong said. The fire training site is located near seven of Penn State's 10 drinking water wells.

Still uncertain are precisely who will pay for the proposed cleanup, estimated to cost between $600,000 and $900,000, and the source of the contamination.

"We're still talking to a lot of people. We're not able to pinpoint a single cause," Fong said.

For about 25 years, Alpha Fire Co. trained fire fighters on the three-acre piece of Penn State property on Big Hollow Road. The site closed in 1997 after the discovery of a small heating oil leak, which led Penn State to commission an independent investigation of the soil and groundwater quality.

The site, which contains structures to simulate different kinds of fires, now sits surrounded by a low fence and overgrown plants just a short walk from the north side of campus.

The fire company, which started using the site in 1972, sometimes burned flammable liquids there as part of the training program, said Walter Wise, fire administrator for the Centre Region Council of Governments (COG).

In addition, Penn State burned laboratory chemicals on the site in the 1970s, a common practice at the time, Fong said.

PCE, also known as tetrachloroethylene, is commonly used in dry cleaning and as an industrial solvent, said Dan Spadoni, community relations coordinator for the North-central Regional Office of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

PCE can cause damage to the nervous system, liver and kidneys, and the Environment Protection Agency is reviewing whether it causes cancer in humans, Spadoni said.

The report, which was released to the university in December, showed the highest concentrations of PCE were from soil samples taken near a burn pit on the training site, Fong said.

Penn State plans to begin the cleanup process as soon as possible, she said, because January and February are ideal months for soil removal.

Penn State will pay for at least part of the cleanup efforts but is still working out the details with COG, Fong added.

Two Penn State wells used for the campus power plant were closed in 1987 because of relatively high levels of PCE contamination. A third well was found to exceed the federal limit for PCE in 1987 and was transferred to golf course irrigation, Fong said.