Why the CDC had to ‘clarify’ its claim that NC State canceled a toxic chemical test

Faculty members met Friday to take a vote of no confidence against Chancellor Randy Woodson and other NC State University leaders on Friday over their handling of the situation involving toxic chemicals found at Poe Hall.

The meeting was requested by Cameron Denson, the chair of the College of Education faculty, over the “mishandling of the contamination of Poe Hall,” in light of reports about a potential cancer cluster and “recent news that the University has prevented the federal government from investigating the issue.”

Results from that meeting, which was closed to the public, were not yet out early Friday afternoon and may not be known until next week.

But the university is pushing back against one of the claims: Its alleged request to the federal government to close an investigation into the toxic chemicals.

It shared a letter with The News & Observer on Friday in which it asks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to retract statements the federal agency made regarding this investigation.

The CDC told The N&O that while NC State did not request that the investigation be closed, it did ask that it be paused. The N&O is seeking further clarity from the university.

Initial toxic chemical discovery

In November, the university closed Poe Hall — which houses the College of Education and the psychology department — after test results showed the presence of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, on various surfaces throughout the building.

A PCB mixture called Aroclor 1262 was found at levels multiple times higher than what federal Environmental Protection Agency rules allow, The N&O reported.

Preliminary testing was done “out of an abundance of caution” in October following air-quality concerns, the university said, as previously reported by The N&O.

PCBs are toxic, man-made chemicals banned from being produced in the United States in 1979. And while they are no longer commercially produced, they can be found on old transformers, electrical equipment, oil-based paint, plastics and more.

PCBs can affect, depending on the quantity present, the immune system, reproductive system and nervous system, and are linked to cancer.

Since that discovery, the university building has remained closed for further environmental testing. But it has faced scrutiny over its handling of the situation and allegations of lacking transparency.

New test results

On Thursday, NC State released new test results for Poe Hall. These were conducted by an environmental consultant, Geosyntec, hired by the university.

For these tests, the university collected both air and surface samples taken while ventilation systems were turned off.

Results show that for all indoor samples collected, PCB levels were below the EPA’s established exposure levels, according to a university news release. It also showed that about two-thirds of surface samples collected had “undetectable concentrations of PCBs,” the release says.

Of the one-third with detectable levels, all but one were below the EPA threshold. Based on these results, Geosyntec will proceed to test with ventilation on, the university said in its release.

Retraction call

WRAL reported on Monday on a letter the TV station obtained in which the CDC claimed NC State asked for it to stop investigating potentially high rates of cancer tied to the toxic chemicals found in Poe Hall.

The CDC said in its letter that while NC State requested a health hazard evaluation, it withdrew that request in January 2024.

The CDC also said three NC State employees requested an evaluation but the CDC could not proceed without the university’s cooperation, WRAL reported.

University spokesperson Mick Kulikowski said in an email to The N&O that NC State would continue to “be engaged” with the CDC and others as the process continues.

He said that NC State did not “ask for the HHE confidentiality requested by employees to be closed.”

He shared the Feb. 6 letter that NC State sent to the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, which is within the CDC, addressing the WRAL report and requesting a retraction from the agency.

In it, an attorney for NC State says that he and others spoke with officials from NIOSH on Jan. 18.

The attorney wrote that during that phone conversation, NIOSH told NC State, after hearing it had hired a consultant, that it preferred to close its investigation, rather than pausing it, with the possibility of reopening it once more data was collected.

CDC spokesperson Lisa George said in an email to The N&O that NIOSH does not have any ongoing health hazard evaluation at NC State and that the previous one is closed.

“To clarify, NCSU requested that NIOSH pause its HHE because of NCSU’s own ongoing internal investigation and NIOSH made the decision to close the inactive HHE, noting that NCSU is welcome to resubmit a request at any time,” George said.

The letter shared with The N&O by the university does not say whether NC State requested a pause and why. The N&O followed up with Kulikowski, who said he was “not aware of any request for a pause by the university.” He referred the N&O to the attorney’s letter.

Asked whether the CDC could have conducted its investigation while NC State’s consultant did its own, George said that “when the workplace is a state employer, NIOSH does not have authority to move forward without the cooperation of the employer.”

Collecting cancer reports

Denson, in his call for the vote of no confidence, linked to a document pointing to reports that the university collected cancer data from selected Poe Hall faculty, which he said was done “covertly.” He also said NC State did not adequately display a September letter from the N.C. Department of Labor alleging the presence of asbestos and PCBs in Poe Hall.

The NCDOL provided The N&O with a copy of that September letter, which includes a complaint with concerns that employees had been exposed to lead-based paint and possibly PCBs. The NCDOL says that this letter and the university’s response must be posted where it “will readily be accessible for review by employees.”

As for the collection of cancer data, Kulikowski said NC State “is not formally collecting information on health conditions. We understand that a limited number of individuals have voluntarily provided data to share with agency partners as necessary.”

Kulikowski didn’t answer questions on what what agencies were doing this, or address the allegations in Denson’s letter, instead pointing to the university’s web page with updates on Poe Hall.

The state’s Department of Health and Human Services has not received information about specific cases of cancer in people who have spent time in Poe Hall, the agency told The N&O.

The university contacted DHHS and the agency offered to assess the building, but told The N&O it’s “acceptable” that NC State opted to contract with a consultant instead.

DHHS said investigating “potential linkage of individual cancer cases to occupational exposures is challenging and part of the specialized work of NIOSH,” which in this case would include reviewing data gathered by NC State’s consultant.