AvalonBay will have to follow a remedial action plan after tests showed high levels of a toxin on the site of its 280-unit housing project
PRINCETON -- AvalonBay will have to follow a remedial action work plan after tests showed high levels of a toxin on the future site of its 280-unit housing project, Princeton officials announced Friday.
Construction was stopped earlier this month at the former University Medical Center site on Witherspoon Street after preliminary tests alerted them to the presence of polychlorinated biphenyl, or PCBs, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.
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Additional samples were then taken from the material piles and other ground locations. No detectable levels of PCBs were found, but the levels of PAHs and metals exceeded the residential standards set by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
PAHs, a form of pollution caused by burning gasoline, coal and garbage, have been shown to cause tumors in laboratory animals, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
AvalonBay's plan requires that the site be capped and that the cap is continually monitored and inspected twice a year.
The developer will also be required to file a deed notice indicating the existence of contaminants capped on the site.
Once construction resumes, staff will continue to monitor the site to ensure the required safeguards are in place including dust control measures and air monitoring, officials said.
The full report will be made available in the clerk's office and online.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.