NC State plans Poe Hall renovation after toxic chemicals discovery

N.C. State has a preliminary plan to renovate the university's Poe Hall after the latest round of testing found dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in the building's HVAC system.

Why it matters: The university closed the building, which has been home to the school's College of Education and Psychology department, late last year after a group of former workers and students said they'd developed serious illnesses and suspected environmental contaminants in Poe Hall were to blame, WRAL reported.

Catch up quick: Well over 100 people who came forward told WRAL they had developed cancer .

• The university conducted testing, which revealed high levels of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, and closed the building in November 2023.

Details: Poe Hall is expected to be closed through the end of the 2024-2025 academic year, N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson said in his announcement of the plans last week.

• The school will remove the bulk of the building's heating, air conditioning and ventilation ductwork, interior and exterior walls, windows and other parts of the building.

Context: In test results released earlier this month, an environmental consultant found high levels of PCBs in the building's ducts, though air samples showed levels below EPA exposure level thresholds.

• Federal regulations require that building materials with PCBs higher than 500 parts per million be removed. The latest test results found concentrations ranging from 0.91 to 53,000 ppm in building materials, the News & Observer reported .

Between the lines: North Carolina's state House proposed spending up to $180 million on Poe Hall renovations , WRAL reported. But the two chambers are currently in a stalemate over the state budget, and the Senate did not allocate any funding for the renovations in its latest proposal.

What's next: The university is consulting with the EPA and will formally submit a notification and application of its plans to renovate the building in the coming weeks.

• Meanwhile, a court case is playing out over whether the university must allow outside investigators to conduct testing in the building.
• The plaintiff in the case, who studied and taught in Poe Hall and was diagnosed with leukemia last year, says he doesn't trust the university's testing, per WRAL .