Cancer on campus: More than 150 students and staff at the University of North Carolina are diagnosed with a host of tumors — as officials find lecture halls and classrooms full of toxic chemicals

More than 150 students, staff and alumni have been diagnosed with cancer and other diseases linked to a university building full of toxins.

Cases of lymphoma, thyroid and breast cancer have been reported in patients who spent time in Poe Hall, a classroom building at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

The building was closed in November 2023 following reports of exposure to disturbing levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), toxic chemicals linked to cancer.

An investigation the month before found that PCB levels in five rooms were more than 38 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) building limit.

The university is now facing lawsuits against the 152 patients who report falling ill with illnesses linked to the toxins.

Poe Hall, which taught education and psychology classes to 4,000 students, was built in 1971, when PCBs were widely used in industrial products such as oils, insulators and electrical appliances such as television sets, lighting and refrigerators.

PCBs, including those used to build Poe Hall, were largely mass-produced by agricultural giant Monsanto until they were banned in 1979 over concerns that they were harmful to people and the environment.

According to the EPA, conclusive evidence shows that PCBs can cause cancer in animals and harm their immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems.

The agency classifies these chemicals as “probably carcinogenic” to humans.

According to the CDC, exposure to PCBs can lead to elevated enzymes linked to liver damage, skin lesions and respiratory problems.

Animal studies have shown effects such as weight loss, fatty liver disease, thyroid damage and cancer.

NC State’s investigation into Poe Hall began in August 2023 when an employee filed a complaint with the North Carolina Department of Labor’s (NCDOL) Occupational Safety and Health Division.

The complaint “alleged health and/or safety hazards related to Poe Hall,” according to the university’s update page for the investigation.

Health officials began sampling the seven-story building in October and found PCB levels were more than 38 times the EPA’s safe limits for construction.

The building was officially closed in November and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) recommended that the university apply for a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE).

An HHE is a federal investigation of a workplace to look for hazards such as carcinogens.

However, according to the CDC, the investigation was called off by NC State’s general counsel in January.

Dr. Dallas Shi, an official with the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), wrote in a letter describing the organization’s inability to move forward: “I explained that the Office of General Counsel of the North Carolina State University has asked us to stop our evaluation.’

‘The applicant expressed concern about a lack of communication and a general distrust in management’s actions. They also raised concerns about a lack of epidemiological analysis.”

“I have offered to confidentially convey these concerns to the Office of General Counsel at North Carolina State University.”

According to a local news channel WRALRandy Woodson, chancellor of NC State University, denied the CDC report, with an attorney writing: “At no time did NC State request that NIOSH enter into an HHE (Health Hazard Evaluation), and I am reaching out to respectfully to request revocation of any statement. On the contrary.’

Several NC State employees and students contacted the NCDHHS urging the agency to investigate.

“A comprehensive health assessment should be conducted to ensure that students, staff and faculty who worked and learned at Poe know how to manage their own health,” a former graduate student with non-cancerous health problems wrote in an email email to the authorities.

NC State alumna Christie Lewis, who attended the university from 2007 to 2012, said she started having night sweats while taking classes in Poe Hall. “I couldn’t figure out what was going on,” she said Fox News digital.

‘I had to get up in the middle of the night and completely change clothes. And then I would fall asleep. And I had to put down a towel.”

“It honestly took me weeks to even tell my husband about it because I kept forgetting because it was the middle of the night.”

Around 2011-2012, Ms. Lewis was diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Months later, she discovered a lump in her neck, which turned out to be angosarcoma, a tumor found in the inner walls of blood and lymphatic vessels.

Although she initially thought it was just a circumstance, she became suspicious after reading reports of a possible link between Poe Hall and cancer cases.

‘Maybe my body isn’t the problem. Maybe I was actually exposed to something that caused this. I don’t know, it definitely shocked me a little bit,” she said.

Jennifer Walter, who attended university from 2004 to 2007, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2017, followed by synovial sarcoma – which mainly affects tissues near large joints such as the knees – in 2022.

“There are such scary statistics associated with sarcoma. It’s just much more real,” she said Fox News digital.

‘They caught it early, which I’m grateful for, but that fear never goes away. It’s something I’ll experience every day for the rest of my life.”

Ms Lewis said she feels ‘violated’ because she thought she was ‘getting a good education… in a safe place’ before suddenly ‘finding herself in unsafe conditions’.

She also fears she may have passed on PCB exposure to her children.

“It really made me nervous,” she said.