NC State reveals plans to remedy toxic PCBs in Poe Hall. Here’s what’s being proposed.
NC State University will remove the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems and other building materials in Poe Hall to remedy the presence of toxic chemicals that shuttered the building late last year, Chancellor Randy Woodson announced Thursday.
The announcement comes about two weeks after the university released test results from inside Poe Hall that confirmed PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls, synthetic chemicals that were banned from being produced in the United States in 1979 — in the building originated from insulation in the HVAC system. Those test results, as well as a previous round of tests, showed that levels of the chemicals in the air, where they pose the greatest health risks, were found to be below exposure levels recommended by the EPA for school environments.
Still, federal regulations require any materials with concentrations of PCBs higher than 500 parts per million (ppm) to be removed from buildings once they are discovered. The early-June test results showed PCB materials in the building had concentrations ranging from 0.91 to 53,000 ppm.
PCBs are considered to be “probable human carcinogens,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They also are known to have a myriad of other negative health effects.
To address the presence of materials with PCBs, Woodson said the university has “concluded that the bulk removal of the entirety of the HVAC systems, interior and exterior walls, paneled facade and windows is the most effective — and possibly most expeditious — pathway to address this unique situation.”
Woodson said the university has shared its initial plans for remediation with the EPA and will seek formal approval from the agency for its proposal “in the coming weeks.”
Woodson did not provide a specific timeline for when renovations might begin or end, but said the university now anticipates Poe Hall to be closed for renovations through at least next spring, which will mark the end of the 2024-25 academic year. University leaders had previously said the building would be closed through at least the end of the 2024 calendar year.
During the renovations, the College of Education, one of two academic units previously housed in Poe Hall, will continue to lease space on the university’s Centennial Campus. The other unit, the psychology department, will move permanently to space at 111 Lampe Drive, and renovations will be planned in that building to ensure it suits the department’s needs, Woodson said.
“I can assure you that our campus community will be the first to know when the timeline for building remediation is finalized,” Woodson said.
The state House of Representatives earmarked at least $5 million in state funds for Poe Hall renovations in its budget proposal, released Monday. The proposal would authorize the university to receive as much as $180 million in state funds for renovations to the building.
This story was originally published June 20, 2024 at 12:55 PM.
