Environmental attorney accuses NC State of neglecting cancer risk in Poe Hall

Environmental attorney Bryan Brice has spent the past 10 months focused on Poe Hall.

2024-10-10

The once-bustling building, which hosted more than 400 students and workers each semester, now sits empty on North Carolina State University's campus.

The university shut down Poe Hall in the middle of the fall semester of 2023 after tests revealed high levels of PCBs. Emails leaked to WRAL News show a group of Poe Hall employees, many battling cancer, had expressed concerns about the building and requested that the university test it for PCBs. Though the chemicals were outlawed in 1979, they remain in many buildings unless actively removed.

Following the closure, NC State ordered further testing of Poe Hall. A consulting firm later determined that the chemicals originated from the building’s HVAC system.

Brice and his team of attorneys represent more than 200 workers and NC State alumni who spent years in Poe Hall and later developed cancer. This summer, they conducted their own testing and plan to use that information to file claims in court.

“We believe that the most recent testing conducted by Geosyntec, along with our own experts, shows very high levels of PCB contamination. Poe Hall is a toxic building,” Brice said.

On Tuesday, WRAL News exclusively obtained a letter indicating that the federal government plans to investigate a potential cancer cluster at the building. The investigation, led by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), specifically focuses on workers who were exposed to PCBs in Poe Hall.

"We are taking action to understand the occurrence of cancer among North Carolina State University employees who worked in the building," wrote Jessica Rinsky, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In an email titled “Alumni Got Excluded Again,” NC State alumna and Brice's client, Sandy Alford, expressed that students should also receive the attention of federal investigators and NC State.

Alford, who spent years in Poe Hall, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.

“There are so many others who have been in the building and may have developed cancer from PCB exposure. We hope the CDC will investigate this as thoroughly as possible,” Brice added.

WRAL News asked NC State if it knew of any investigations into cancer rates and alumni who spent time in Poe Hall. Here is the university's full response:

"The ongoing HHE is currently the only evaluation that is taking place -- that's all we are aware of at this time. Once it's complete, we will share the results of the HHE with the entire community including alumni."