Work on the apartment complex being built by AvalonBay Communities could resume as early as next week, according to information provided at a meeting of Princeton Council Monday evening. The Witherspoon Street construction site, formerly home to University Medical Center at Princeton, has been quiet since the presence of harmful chemicals was detected earlier this month. It was originally shut down in August after a worker was injured in a fall from an elevator shaft.

The town’s municipal engineer Bob Kiser told the governing body that stockpiled materials at the site will be removed within two weeks and it should take trucks 26 business days to complete. Activities will be monitored daily by the town.

AvalonBay has provided a full version of a site investigation report filed by EcolSciences, Inc. about the presence of PCBs and PAHs, to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The presence of PAHs was found. But though PCBs were detected to exceed State standards during preliminary testing, EcolSciences did not find the same results at secondary testing.

The town’s Health Officer Jeffrey Grosser explained that this is not unusual. Both sets of results on the PCBs were extremely close in numerical value to the State standard of 0.2 milligrams per kilogram, and any minor discrepancy would put the result above or below the level.

In addition, “Each location essentially tells us a different story,” he said on Tuesday. “Rarely are two samples exactly the same, even if taken from the same location due to the precise degree these samples are taken. Most of these samples were taken down to the part per million or even part per billion range, which allows for some variation. What’s important to remember here is that there were exceedances of the State standards for soil remediation and as a result, remedial action is required.”

The plan provided to the town by AvalonBay involves capping the [PAH] contaminants and obtaining a remedial action permit from the DEP, which requires continual monitoring and semi-annual inspection of the capping. Once construction resumes, AvalonBay will conduct appropriate air monitoring and dust control measures. Last week, Princeton administrator Marc Dashield said in a press release that municipal staff and the Whitman environmental consulting firm have reviewed the investigation report and remedial action plan and found them acceptable.

Mr. Kiser said the entire report will be posted on the town’s website. “AvalonBay is fully following the DEP requirements,” he said. “We have had numerous meetings and phone discussions with them. We are very comfortable with what AvalonBay has proposed.”

In another matter related to AvalonBay, Mayor Liz Lempert said that despite the State’s decision not to change the fire codes following the massive blaze at an AvalonBay-owned apartment complex in Edgewater last February, the developer had agreed to take extra steps to put in masonry firewalls, elevator shafts, and a comprehensive sprinkler system at the Princeton community. “AvalonBay did go above and beyond and we are grateful,” she said earlier in the day. “But we’re disappointed that no changes were made to the fire codes. This is just one development. It should be law.”