Poe Hall latest: 164 people fear NC State building caused their cancer
A WRAL 5 On Your Side investigation into NC State is making international headlines.
When NC State University closed a busy school building after detecting cancer-causing chemicals inside, 5 On Your Side began tracking the number of people who worked or studied there and later developed cancer.
The investigation began five months ago and came to be mainly because NC State said it would not collect the same information.
With each report put out by 5 On Your Side, more people came forward to report their cancer, or the cancer of a loved one who passed away. In early February, 5 On Your Side reported 40 cases of cancer; later that month, the number had grown to 123, and it now stands at 164.
The investigation has now been featured in The Times (London), People Magazine, USA Today, and most recently, NBC Nightly News.
5 On Your Side is tracking the type of cancer diagnosis, the date of diagnosis, the amount of time spent in Poe Hall, among other things. More than a third of the cases are breast cancer. In 2022, the rate of diagnosis of breast cancer in Poe Hall, for example, was three times higher than the rate of diagnosis in Wake County, where NC State is located.
It is not known if the high levels of PCBs found in Poe Hall are connected to any of these cancers. NC State officials tell WRAL 5 On Your Side that they are working swiftly to find answers.
The university has a Poe Hall Updates page but is not actively notifying people who previously spent time in Poe Hall that cancer-causing chemicals were found inside. Because of this, many alumni and former workers learned about the situation through WRAL reports.
Most recently, national coverage of the story alerted one alumna living in New Mexico. She contacted 5 On Your Side to share that she developed breast cancer after receiving her graduate degree in psychology. Poe Hall housed the School of Education and Department of Psychology.
