Last night, the NC State Student Senate UNANIMOUSLY passed Resolution 94: The Campus Health and Safety Act. This is an important showing from our student body in starting to hold the University accountable for basic health needs and environmental testing in the wake of the devastating news of hundreds of potential cancer cases out of Poe Hall and reports of additional buildings containing PCBs on campus. Multiple students and faculty provided emotional testimony to the Senate throughout the course of the night. We will be sharing their words and stories throughout the week on our Instagram page and watching closely as the Resolution heads to Student Body President Allison Markert for veto or signature. With her signature, the Resolution will go to University administration for review.

Other UNC System schools conduct PCB testing campaigns

Western Carolina University joins other UNC system schools UNC Charlotte, NC A&T, UNC Asheville and UNC Pembroke in testing for PCBs in buildings built before 1979. These UNC system schools embarked on PCB testing in the wake of NC State’s closure of Poe Hall, in many cases their facilities teams referenced the incident as the reason for beginning their campus testing campaigns.. UNC Asheville and UNC Pembroke detected trace PCBs and is pursuing further testing and remediation. UNC Charlotte reported finding no detectable traces of airborne PCBs according to both OSHA and EPA standards. NC A&T hasn’t yet detected airborne PCBs in over 100 samples taken across campus. To date, NC State has only conducted the minimum pre-renovation or pre-demolition PCB testing required by the EPA, the collective results of which were only publicly distributed recently via a WRAL news report. These results are extremely limited, indicating only the presence of PCB containing building materials in a small subsection of the campus buildings. NC State should take the the inspiration that other UNC system schools took from Poe Hall: conduct a campus wide air quality testing campaign for PCBs.

PCB Teach-in draws crowd on campus

On January 30, Campus Community Alliance for Environmental Justice, in partnership with the NC State chapter of YDSA and North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, hosted a PCB Teach-in in the Witherspoon Student Center Auditorium on campus. Our panelists, Reverend Bill Kearney, Dr. David O. Carpenter, Dr. Linda Birnbaum and Sandy Alford, shared an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge with the audience. Check out the Poe Hall timeline graphic that was shared with our audience, which provides critical details that remain missing from NC State’s communications. Dr. David O. Carpenter’s pre-recorded interview from the event is also available on YouTube. 

Keep in touch

Have you been affected by the toxic conditions in Poe Hall or other campus buildings? Do you want to join us in taking care of our campus community? Follow the Campus Community Alliance for Environmental Justice on Instagram. Email us at [email protected] to tell your story and get more involved.