A group of attorneys said they will pursue justice for people who worked or studied in North Carolina State University's Poe Hall and believe chemicals in the building made them sick.
The group of four law firms representing students and faculty are targeting several parties, including NC State and Monsanto, a biotechnology corporation that manufactured PCBs, which are known to cause cancer.
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A press release states the firms intend "to hold all responsible parties accountable, including NC State and Monsanto, for prioritizing secrecy and profit over public safety."
The action comes after attorneys for a former NC State graduate student were able to test inside Poe Hall for the presence of PCBs.
It's not clear what that testing shows, and WRAL News does not know how that has played into the decision to pursue legal action.
More than 200 people reported to WRAL Investigates that they were diagnosed with cancer after spending time in Poe Hall. However, no connection has been made between those cancer cases and the PCBs found in Poe Hall.
"This joint legal action aims to secure comprehensive compensation for victims of PCB exposure and to spotlight the negligence that allowed such hazards to infiltrate academic and public spaces," the law firms said in their joint statement.
WRAL News is reaching out to Monsanto and NC State for a response.
Poe Hall closed in fall 2023 after testing at the seven-story concrete building at 2310 Katharine Stinson Drive unveiled the presence of harmful environmental contaminants. Testing revealed high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs.
PCBs were commonly used in construction in the mid- to early-1970s, but they are now known to cause cancer. Poe Hall was built in 1971.
In December, N.C. State hired a consulting firm to conduct more thorough testing of the building. But workers and students, jaded by what they characterized as a slow response by the university, felt the results could not be trusted.
Since then, the state’s second highest court has ruled that NC State must allow independent investigators in Poe Hall to test the building.