WRAL's coverage of the closure of a North Carolina State University building and the reports of hundreds of cancer cases among former students and employees has earned national recognition.
The Poe Truth: Chemicals and Cancer at NC State University is the 2025 winner of the Edward R. Murrow award for continuing coverage among large-market television stations.
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Poe Hall, the home to NC State's NC State's Psychology Department and College of Education, closed during the 2023 fall semester after PCBs were found. The chemicals, commonly used in building materials during the mid-20th century, are now classified as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization.
Within a year, more than 200 people had contacted WRAL to report they had both a link to Poe Hall and a cancer diagnosis. Nearly half of them had breast cancer. Other cases included thyroid, blood, and skin cancers, all of which studies have linked to PCB exposure.
Many of those who reported a cancer diagnosis to WRAL News were in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and had no family history of cancer.
>> Inside Poe Hall: The cases
Investigation into the prevalence of PCBs at Poe Hall has been inconsistent, with the university first asking National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH], a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] for help, then putting that work on pause only to start it up again.
Almost two years after the building closed, those who studied and worked there still have no answers. Hundreds of them have announced plans to sue the university and Monsanto.
A WRAL investigation found NC State has already spent more than $823,000 on legal fees and building reports tied to Poe Hall.
WRAL News has created an interactive experience that takes you inside Poe Hall. See the rooms and areas where PCBs were found in the NC State building.