In 2018, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) were originally discovered within the walls of NCSU Education Department, Poe Hall; however, it would only cause an effect on classroom procedures in November of 2023 when it was shut down due to PCBs being confirmed present in Poe Hall.
PCBs are a highly toxic type of chemical that has been proven in several studies to be linked to being capable of causing cancer. Many Athens Drive teachers have been alarmed because they spent a large amount of their education within those halls.
“I was confused because I hadn’t heard anything about it until about November of 2023 when they were like, shutting down the building. So I didn’t know like anything about it,” said Madi Marlowe, a student teacher from NC State University.
There has been a lot of confusion from the entire situation at NC State as many teachers and students have been left in the dark about the dangers in the walls all around them.
“If I wasn’t in class then I was just hanging out in the college itself, like in the library or the lab space,” said Marlowe.
Many students in Poe Hall spent a lot of time in the structure at all times of the day. They took a large amount of Education and Psychology courses in Poe Hall as well as worked in labs and regularly studied for exams.
“I didn’t know until November 2023, and … they knew [about the dangers] since 2018,” said Marlowe. “They didn’t notify anybody, staff or students about it except one piece of paper of the report. I guess that was posted on a bulletin board somewhere in the College of Education. Nobody looks at paper bulletins anymore these days, but it just got covered up by other things and it wasn’t taken seriously,” said Marlow.
This explains how sudden and unexpected the shutdown of Poe Hall truly was to students of NC State as they did not even know until the report was posted which caused people to feel like it was covered up.
“They’re scared of liability, they are scared, which they know is sitting squarely on their shoulders,” said Remaley, math teacher at Athens Drive.
Many students from NC State are concerned for their health as the current reported cases of cancer related to the PCBs of Poe Hall is over 100 cases and they know that they have been exposed to the same chemicals as the people who have been affected.
“I am not … super concerned about it because you know, it is what it is. Like I can’t take back all the time that I spent in that building,” said Marlowe.
After the recent promotion, students understand the risk they have been exposed to and are just going to have to go on with their lives and hope they remain unaffected by this discovery.
“What makes me the most concerned is how NC State is … kind of lying about it. I [have read] news resorts that have talked directly to the CDC office and they are saying the PCB levels are 38 higher than the EPA limit,” said Marlowe.
