The fire training site remediation project at the University Park campus has completed soil removal and other activities including the installation and testing of additional monitoring wells. Seeding and restoration of the site is complete.
Under the direction of Penn State's Office of Environmental Health and Safety, the EPSYS Corp. of Harrisburg has completed the removal of approximately 11,000 tons of contaminated soil that was sent to specially designated sites in Michigan and western Pennsylvania.
Throughout the process, soil samples have been collected and tested by an outside analytical laboratory. The findings have confirmed the successful removal of the soil contamination from the site.
Most recently, following the plan developed by Penn State and approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection, EPSYS installed four new monitoring wells. This establishes eight monitoring wells surrounding the site.
Tests of the monitoring wells found that four wells showed no chemical contamination, according to Maurine Claver, director of the University's Office of Environmental Health and Safety. Not unexpectedly, some contamination was found in monitoring wells in the direction southeast of the fire training site, confirming results from the original testing done last year.
The fire training site had been used for decades by Penn State and area firefighting companies. A cleanup of a heating oil spill at the site led to another investigation where isolated amounts of perchloroethylene, a material commonly used in dry cleaning, had been measured at the site in late 1998.
Penn State, with the approval of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, developed a plan to address the contamination and restore the site to its original natural state.
The University and EPSYS will be evaluating the results of the monitoring well tests along with other information to determine the appropriate follow-up measures.
There continues to be no hazard to the public, Claver said. Tests of University drinking water supply wells continue to show water quality well within federal and state standards. These wells have been tested on an increased frequency to ensure safety.