PCBs & NC State
NC State University has a toxic chemical problem. Concerns about PCBs first came to the attention of the wider community in November 2023 when the University shuttered Poe Hall, but employees had spoken out about their concerns years earlier without any action being taken. As of January 2025, over 500 members of the NC State community with life-altering health diagnoses, including cancer, have discovered their connection to each other: time spent in Poe Hall. The presence of PCB building materials has been confirmed in multiple buildings on the NC State campus. There are many others that have yet to be tested but likely also contain harmful levels of PCBs and other environmental contaminants given the years of construction. How long will we wait to see if these buildings become another Poe Hall?
Informational Resources
The Science of PCBs
University of Iowa’s Superfund Research Program, which focuses on PCBs, provides written answers to an open Q&A session conducted in response to the situation with Poe Hall at NC State University.
CCAEJ Approved Resource
ToxFAQs™ for PCBs
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s fact sheet about polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which answers the most frequently asked health questions about the chemical.
CCAEJ Approved Resource
Poe Hall Updates
A website run by NC State University to compile the administration’s resources, timelines and announcements related to Poe Hall. This website does not contain complete information about NC State’s toxic campus problem.
EPA’s PCB Landing Page
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s landing page with links to government approved information about PCBs, cleanup, disposal & storage, building materials information, and more. Some information contained on this site represents regulatory minimums rather than best practices, but does serve as a baseline source for information about PCBs.
Check out past issues of the CCAEJ newsletter What’s Up with Poe Hall? Subscribe to stay up to date with reliable information about PCBs on the NC State campus.