The Center for Disease Control has launched an investigation into North Carolina State University’s Poe Hall after more than 150 people were diagnosed with various types of cancer.
Cases of lymphoma, thyroid and breast cancer have been reported among staff, students and alumni who spent time in the department building earlier this year.
The building was closed in November 2023 due to reports of exposure to worrying 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.
As a result, a division of the CDC has begun investigating possible cancer clusters in the once-busy university building.
Poe Hall, a classroom at North Carolina State University, has been closed due to concerns about ‘forever chemicals’ polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have been linked to cancer
As a result, a division of the CDC has begun investigating possible cancer clusters in the once-busy university building
Jessica Rinsky, an epidemiologist with the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in an official letter: “We are taking action to understand the incidence of cancer among North Carolina State University employees who worked in the building.”
The expert reportedly asked the state of North Carolina to compare Poe Hall employees to the state’s cancer registry and provide local cancer data to determine if there is an excess of “specific types of cancer” among Poe Hall employees, thus WRAL.
Attorney Bryan Brice, who is representing the patients, said his clients were “thrilled” that an investigation had begun and believed about 25 of the victims had already died.
“We are excited and pleased that the CDC and NIOSH Cancer Cluster Study are well underway.
More than 150 people have been diagnosed with cancer linked to Poe Hall, where education and psychology classes were taught to 4,000 students
‘We have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of clients who are sick and in pain and (have) cancer. We understand that as many as 25 people may have died from cancer who worked at Poe Hall.
‘It’s a toxic building. I was worried. I was glad we had PPE and protective gear. PCBs – polychlorinated biphenyls – were banned in 1979 for good reason. They are poisonous,” he said ABC11.
Brice’s clients include Sarah Glad, a 35-year-old mother of one, who dreamed of using her degrees from NC State to run for office.
However, her dreams were cut short when she died of stage four breast cancer, which her family claims was related to taking classes at Poe Hall.
Sarah Glad, who attended NC State from 2007 to 2013, died of stage four breast cancer at age 35
The dozens of cancer cases and their links to the university building came to light after a months-long investigation by local news station WRAL.
Sarah attended NC State from 2007 to 2013 and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Her husband, Robbie Glad, said WRALwho investigated the cases that his wife spent much of her graduate program at Poe Hall.
Years later, within months of each other, Sarah and a former classmate were both diagnosed with breast cancer. Sara was only 33 years old.
She was able to realize one dream and become a mother in August 2022, even as cancer ravaged her body.
However, in January 2024, she died from the disease at the age of 35.
Jessica Rinsky, an epidemiologist with the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in an official letter: “We are taking action to understand the incidence of cancer among North Carolina State University employees who worked in the building.”
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
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 higher than the EPA’s safe limits for construction.