Toxic chemicals close NC State’s Poe Hall for the semester

RALEIGH (WRAL) — Poe Hall, an academic building at North Carolina State University, will close Friday after toxic chemicals were found inside the building.

In October, testing at the seven-story concrete building unveiled the presence of harmful environmental contaminants (PCBs), according to an email sent to students, staff and faculty. WRAL News is working to find out why the building was tested and what, if any, recommendations will be made for people who worked or studied at Poe Hall.

Access to Poe Hall at 2310 Katharine Stinson Drive will be limited after 5 p.m. on Friday, when the building’s heating, cooling and ventilation systems will be switched off. Classes normally held in the building will be held virtually or in alternative locations for the rest of the semester.

On Friday, faculty and staff moved boxes of personal items out of the building. Some have worked inside Poe Hall for decades.

“There’s a little bit of concern [among staff] … but what we’ve been communicated is that the HVAC system just needs to be overhauled,” said academic adviser Samanta Worrell. “It’s an old building.”

Many faculty and staff members said they were hesitant to speak on camera because they were worried about retribution.

Another Poe Hall employee believes the PCBs were found in the duct work.

Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are cancer-causing chemicals that do not break down easily and can be found in the air, water and soil. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports PCB-containing building materials were used in schools and other buildings constructed or renovated between about 1950 and 1979.

Poe Hall was built in 1971.

Further testing will be done on the building’s air conditioning, heating and ventilation systems, according to the university. It is not clear when the building will reopen.

A statement from the university read:

“Closing the building is a voluntary step and obviously challenging for our affected colleges. By moving to remote and alternate formats quickly, we hope to minimize impact on students and faculty as we approach the exam period … The preliminary testing results provide a starting point, and the university is committed to taking any step necessary to fully understand environmental conditions in Poe.”

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