Poe Hall report confirms elevated cancer rates. Why it can’t prove their cause.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Report finds PCBs and elevated cancers but can’t confirm a causal link.
- Melanoma doubled and breast cancer was elevated; significant only in female staff.
- Report urges a tailored epidemiologic study and continued Poe Hall remediation.
The results of a federal investigation commissioned by NC State University on the health hazards of its former education building are in. The report confirms elevated levels of certain types of cancer among former employees and students, but researchers couldn’t say for certain whether the now-banned chemicals used to construct Poe Hall are the cause.
Poe Hall is riddled with PCBs, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report confirms. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are a group of harmful chemicals manufactured by Monsanto and banned in 1979 — eight years after Poe Hall was built. They are classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
The human health evaluation, conducted by physicians and scientists, began in February 2024. In the two years since, investigators found PCBs in the air, on surfaces, and in the building materials. The report says that 93% of the bulk building material samples collected exceeded the legal threshold for removal and disposal. Gold-colored insulation sealant in the HVAC ductwork was the primary source of the harmful chemicals.
Crucially, the report confirms that the number of cases of cancers like melanoma and breast cancer among former Poe Hall occupants is greater than that of the general population of North Carolina.
But did these high levels of dangerous chemicals directly cause the elevated rates of cancer? On that question, the report is less certain.
Federal investigators analyzed cancer rates among 4,660 employees who worked in the building between 1995 and 2022. In this group, there were 111 cases of cancer reported to the state cancer registry.
The number of melanoma cases in former Poe Hall occupants is double the average rate. The number of breast cancer cases is also elevated, but less so than melanoma. The report notes that high rates of both melanoma and breast cancer are “statistically significant only among female employees.”
The only type of cancer analyzed that hasn’t occurred at an elevated rate is non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Rates of that cancer were similar or less than expected.
But determining a cause for these high levels of illness is difficult, according to the report. Federal investigators say “there are many reasons why one group of people might have more cancer for another.” These include harmful substances at work, but also better access to medical care and cancer screening, lifestyle differences, variability in cancer rates, or limitations in evaluation.
“Differences in access to medical care and cancer screening may be an important factor to consider when interpreting these results,” the report reads. “If employees had better access to medical care and cancer screening than the general population, more cancers would be found earlier and therefore employees could appear to have a higher rate of cancer.”
Because investigators could only assess current levels of PCBs, they can’t say for certain whether specific employees were exposed to similar levels during their work in the building.
To find out for certain whether the elevated rates of PCBs and the elevated rates of cancer are connected, the report recommends a “specially designed epidemiologic study.” It also recommends continuing a planned renovation of Poe Hall and encouraging former building occupants to discuss cancer screenings with their doctor.
This investigation has had a chaotic trajectory. Requested in 2024 by NC State, the investigation was halted in April 2025 due to reductions in the federal workforce. Then, in May, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health told Chancellor Kevin Howell that it planned to go through with it after all.
This report could serve as key legal evidence in the web of litigation surrounding Poe Hall.
A group of 12 sickened people who were employees and students at NC State, including three who died and whose estates are involved in the lawsuit, are suing the school for acting with “deliberate indifference” toward the presence of PCBs in Poe Hall. NC State recently moved to have this case thrown out.
“Many of us are intimately acquainted with the difficult journey of battling health concerns,” NC State wrote in a statement about the report. “Our thoughts and support continue for anyone currently going through treatment and for those who have endured serious health challenges.”
The university, in turn, is suing Monsanto for producing chemicals the company knew were harmful. The group of sick former occupants is also suing Monsanto. That suit alleges that the manufacturer knew PCBs were dangerous as early as the 1930s and deliberately sold PCB-laden materials to industrial manufacturers anyway.
Monsanto points to the new report as a confirmation that a causal link between PCB exposure and cancer is unsupported.
“We have great sympathy for anyone diagnosed with a serious illness like cancer,” a statement from the company about the report reads. “Significantly, the NIOSH study did not find that PCBs were a cause for any of the cancers examined as part of its report on Poe Hall. Furthermore, the NIOSH report found that all air samples were below EPA protective levels, regardless of whether the HVAC system was running. Decades of relevant and reliable science do not support a causal connection between low-level exposure to PCBs and the illnesses alleged in the litigation related to Poe Hall.”
Poe Hall has been closed since 2023. The school is planning a massive remediation and renovation of Poe Hall, including removal of the HVAC system and all interior and exterior walls.
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 9:55 AM.
