NC State to host webinar on Poe Hall's evaluation on Monday
North Carolina State University on Tuesday announced it will host a webinar with health experts on Poe Hall.
According to a release from the University, Chancellor Randy Woodson and Provost Warwick Arden will provide updates and answer questions about the university’s progress and timeline for Poe Hall’s evaluation.
The university will also provide updates on the school’s work with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health on its ongoing Health Hazard Evaluation.
The school also announced item retrieval from the building is halted. Arden said he recognizes some of the items left in the building have sentimental value, and the school is working on a plan to retrieve them.
“Once testing is completed and recommendations are made about any needed mitigation measures in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, we will revisit plans for retrieving remaining items,” Arden said in a statement.
The webinar comes four months after the university closed Poe Hall. The school said the building will remain closed through the rest of the year.
Records obtained by 5 On Your Side revealed the exterior of the building showed signs of PCBs – categorized by the World Health Organization as "probably carcinogenic to humans" – at Poe Hall as far back as 2018.
The university said Dr. Zack Moore, the state epidemiologist with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Andrew F. Olshan, a UNC-Chapel Hill epidemiologist, will also attend the webinar.
According to the university, the doctors will provide “additional context and information on public health, including the roles various agencies are playing in understanding potential connections among cancer diagnoses.”
Over 100 people said they were diagnosed with some form of cancer, and more than a dozen other reports of serious illness in people after spending time inside the building.
According to the University, Drs. Moore and Olshan’s opinions are their own and offered for informational purposes only. The university added they also cannot address specific personal health concerns.
Additionally, only current students and staff can sign up for the webinar.
NC State will host the webinar on Monday, March 25, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The webinar will be recorded and posted on NC State’s Poe Hall Updates website.
