The unexplained rash of cancer cases reported by North Carolina State University alumni may be linked to carcinogens in one or more campus buildings.
Blaze Media reported that more than 150 current and former students who attended classes in the Poe Hall campus building have contracted cancer.
Officials noted polychlorinated biphenyl levels in Poe Hall were “more than 38 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) standards for building materials were detected inside five rooms within the building.” according to Fox News.
The outlet added that school officials closed Poe Hall late last year.
North Carolina State University in Raleigh continues to investigate student and alumni exposure to concerning levels of PCBs a probable carcinogen, in one of its campus buildings that the school officially shut down in November of last year.https://t.co/Hz34imYALo
— Justice is Served🟧 (@pleasesaveour) April 1, 2024
11ABC reported that officials will conclude the second phase of their investigation and make a report this month. A memo from campus administrators read: “When the next phase is completed, we expect another report with results and analysis and will provide this information to you once we receive it. Please be assured that our consultants are working as quickly as possible to get answers about the building.”
Phase one of the investigation revealed that inspectors found high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls in multiple areas of the Poe Hall building. The investigation also noted that the number of students who attended classes in the building who have been diagnosed with cancer is 300% higher than the number of “all cancer cases in Wake County.”
Alumni Christie Lewis told Fox: “I was finishing up my finals, and I was going in for a physical at the health center. … I was having night sweats for weeks and weeks before this, and I could not figure out what was happening.”
Lewis, who attended classes in Poe Hall for four years, added: “I was having to get up in the middle of night and change clothes completely. And then I would fall asleep. And I had to put a towel down.”
She was initially diagnosed with thyroid cancer and later was diagnosed with angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer that attacks blood or lymph vessels.
Poe Hall was home to the school’s education and psychology departments for several decades.
WRAL News interviewed several women who, reporter Keely Arthur stated, “Did not feel their concerns were being heard.” The outlet also noted that women represent 77% of the reported cancer cases and that multiple forms of cancer have been documented, including breast, lymphoma, leukemia, and skin cancer.
