Emails obtained by WRAL 5 On Your Side show that North Carolina State University is quietly collecting information from people with cancer who work at Poe Hall. The university closed the education building on Nov. 22 after testing found the presence of PCB chemicals, which can cause cancer.
One email asks respondents to share how many years they’ve worked at Poe Hall, what type of cancer they have, and the date of their diagnosis.
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Another email sent by the Assistant Dean of Operations on Oct. 12, titled "Self Reporting," indicates that it is gathering health data as part of an investigation.
However, some Poe Hall workers tell 5 On Your Side they weren’t aware of such an investigation until after Poe Hall closed.
“I would like to encourage as much participation as possible so we could provide … as complete a picture as we can of what we know thus far,” the October email states.
The email encourages recipients to send personal and medical information to the Head of the Occupational Medicine Department at NC State.
In a separate email obtained by WRAL 5 On Your Side, the Head of the Occupational Medicine asks a university employee to answer the following questions:
- Current age
- Gender
- Current zip code
- Past zip codes (last 10 years)
- Number of years at Poe Hall
- Hours per week at Poe Hall
- Type of cancer
- Date of diagnosis
The email notes that the information will be sent anonymously to the Department of Health and Human Services. The email notes that data is being collected from multiple employees; however, it is unclear how many people received these emails and how widespread the investigation is. WRAL 5 On Your Side has asked NC State for more information.
Since the announcement of the closure, several current and former students and staff who spent time in Poe Hall have told WRAL 5 On Your Side that they’ve struggled with a wide range of health issues, including cancer, asthma, fatigue and thyroid conditions.
In an email to 5 On Your Side, DHHS clarified, saying they recommended NC State record the information and use it to request a Health Hazard Evaluation from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
"NCDHHS has been in touch with NCSU to support their efforts to address their employees' health concerns," wrote NC DHHS senior media relations manager Kelly Haight Connor. "We have not received any data and we are not conducting an investigation. Our initial response recommended data that they could collect from employees to help understand the situation.
"In a subsequent meeting, we recommended that NCSU use the data to request a Health Hazard Evaluation from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH], which is our typical recommendation for health concerns in occupational settings. As the state health department, we received notification that this request was made to NIOSH."
The university provided an update on Poe Hall on Tuesday afternoon at the faculty senate meeting.
NC State releases statement
On Tuesday, NC State released a statement about Tuesday's meeting.
"Once employee health concerns were shared, the university began consulting with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health about the concerns," said NC State Senior Media Relations Strategist Lauren Barker. "Samples were collected in October and November and analyzed for asbestos, RCR8 (a group of toxic heavy metals, including lead, mercury, etc.) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
"Results from preliminary testing show that only PCBs warrant additional investigation.
"The voluntary and proactive decision was made to close the building in order to conduct more extensive testing and to consult with an outside environmental expert. While we understand that the abrupt closure of the building causes concern, we took this step out of an abundance of caution for our faculty, staff and students. It’s important to recognize that the initial tests we conducted are just that – preliminary.
"The university is currently in the process of engaging with an outside environmental consultant to conduct additional environmental testing in order to better understand the potential environmental and health concerns raised by employees."