
Certain North Carolina State University (NC State) alumni have experienced a statistically anomalous rate of cancer. Specifically, students who spent substantial amounts of time in Poe Hall appear to be at risk. A total of 152 cases of cancer have been reported among students who have attended classes there.
More than 150 students, faculty, and alumni from North Carolina State University have been diagnosed with different types of cancers and diseases that have been linked to a dangerous amount of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which is linked to cancer at Poe Hall on the NC State… pic.twitter.com/h1NKfn42rr
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) April 1, 2024
Poe Hall housed the University’s College of Education and Department of Psychology. It was built in 1971, eight years before the use of PCBs in building materials was outlawed.
PCBs are chemical compounds that were once used in paints, caulking and other building supplies. In 1979, they were banned after it was discovered that they were associated with several different types of cancers.
Five rooms in particular had PCB levels of 38 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards for building materials.
Evidence suggests that the University knew about the extent of the problem long before the building was closed in November 2023. Testing performed in 2018 by Matrix Health & Safety Consultants showed that PCB levels even in the exterior of Poe Hall were greater than 17,000 parts per million (ppm). Levels of 50 ppm are considered hazardous.
One NC State alum described the onset of her cancer to Fox News. Christie Lewis described night sweats which impacted her sleep. While still a student in 2011-2012, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and angiosarcoma.
Another alum who attended classes at Poe Hall from 2004-2007 spoke to Fox News about very similar cancers she contracted. Jennifer Walter described fatigue and joint pain which was misdiagnosed as mononucleosis. Her symptoms were eventually identified as stemming from thyroid cancer and synovial sarcoma.
Bill Whitley is an attorney who may initiate a class action lawsuit against Monsanto, the company that made the PCB-laden building materials used in Poe Hall’s construction.
He said to Fox News: “Unfortunately, I think we’re going to see it more and more in these buildings that were built during that range — 1971 to 1979. That’s when the PCBs were around. They were being used in caulking and insulation and they were like this wonder material.”
The seven-story building remains closed as NC State continues its investigation. There is an ongoing debate on whether the situation at the University fits the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) definition of a “cancer cluster.”