By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Princeton officials said Monday that they expect to learn this week the level of contamination in chemical-tainted materials found at the AvalonBay construction site on Witherspoon Street.
Town administrator Marc D. Dashield said AvalonBay would notify the town of results on the material, mostly consisting of crushed concrete, that was going to be taken to a landfill. The results will determine what next steps are taken, he said.
Earlier this month, the town announced the material had the presence of polychlorinated biphenyl and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has said that both are chemicals that cause cancer.
Work on the 280-unit residential development has stopped, while the materials remain covered with plastic.
AvalonBay senior vice president Ronald S. Ladell said Tuesday that results would be disclosed to the town this week. He did not know when construction-related work at the site would resume.
For her part, Councilwoman Jo S. Butler said AvalonBay has “taken every precaution” in having the material tested, a required step before the material could have been taken to a landfill.
“They did what they’re supposed to do,” she said.
Last week, representatives for the town and the state Department of Environmental Protection had a meeting during which the town expressed concerns about the contaminated material, Mr. Dashield said.
The DEP is the governing regulatory agency over the site.
This story will be updated as additional details become available.
