Near the start of the spring semester, members of the College of Education at North Carolina State University made an unprecedented move: they passed a vote of no confidence against a sitting chancellor. While the vote was purely symbolic, records now show the university re-requested an independent health investigation just hours after the vote.
More than 1,200 pages of emails and documents exchanged between the Centers for Disease Control and NC State are giving new insights into NC State's handling of Poe Hall and its willingness to involve the CDC in investigating the building.
Weeks before the vote, Kate Norwalk contacted WRAL 5 On Your Side. Her heart was pounding. She had just discovered that the CDC was no longer investigating Poe Hall, the building where she had spent seven years teaching.
It was the same building that she, along with hundreds of others, believed might have caused their cancer.
NC State closed Poe Hall after air and dust samples revealed high polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) levels. Commonly used in building materials in the early to mid-1900s, PCBs were banned by the EPA in 1979 due to their toxicity to humans and wildlife.
Studies have linked PCBs to cancers, tumors, and other medical issues.
Poe Hall: The latest updates about the NC State scandal
Norwalk was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. Before the pandemic, she’d spent 50 hours a week in the building working toward tenure. By 2023, two other women in her 30-person psychology department were battling the same disease, and there were more cases within the College of Education, also housed in Poe Hall.
Emails given exclusively to WRAL News showed an education faculty member, also battling cancer, implored the university to test the building in August. According to the emails, the worker knew of at least five other women in the College of Education also battling breast cancer. The university began testing the building in October and closed the building in mid-November.
Later that month, WRAL News reported that NC State had requested a Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a part of the CDC. Health Hazard Evaluations assess potential risks posed to workers on the job.
As part of an HHE, investigators could collect samples, review medical records, and conduct medical examinations. The evaluation would take six to twelve months to complete and could help Norwalk and the others better understand if their work environment contributed to their cancers.
But the evaluation ended before it began. Records now show NC State "conveyed" it no longer needed the CDC’s help in November and again in January, according to a CDC email discussing the situation. Because NC State is a public institution, the CDC said it didn’t have the authority to continue with its investigation without the university’s cooperation.
The university did not publicize the change but announced it had hired a consulting firm to conduct more extensive testing. According to a university message, NC State would use the testing to inform “decisions about remediation of any sources of PCBs” in Poe Hall.
The change meant the end of the only investigation focused on the health of the people who spent time in Poe Hall.
In January, Norwalk contacted NIOSH for an update on the HHE and was told the news.
WRAL 5 On Your Side reported that the HHE was over in February. It was the first time many workers heard that the evaluation was off. By that point, WRAL News' 5 On Your Side had received more than 40 reports of cancer in people who had worked or learned in Poe Hall.
5 On Your Side began collecting the information to better understand the potential public health crisis, after NC State refused to collect the same information from alumni and workers actively trying to report it.
Days later, citing the WRAL report, faculty members of the College of Education requested the College Coordinating Committee hold votes of no confidence for Chancellor Randy Woodson, Vice Chancellor Warwick Arden, and Education Dean Paola Sztajn over their handling of Poe Hall.
In total, 65 of the 99 full-time faculty voted. Most voters expressed "no confidence" in Chancellor Woodson and Arden. Dean Sztajn narrowly escaped, with 49 percent voting "no confidence."
WRAL broke the results of the vote Monday afternoon. Just before 9:00 p.m. the same day NC State re-requested the HHE.
"We will have a team of people available to assist with the HHE," an attorney at NC State wrote to the CDC.
The re-requested HHE was a small triumph for Norwalk and hundreds of other workers and students who’ve expressed concern over NC State’s transparency regarding Poe Hall and its willingness to allow outside agencies to investigate the building and the illnesses.
"They did the right thing, the thing they should’ve done this whole time," Norwalk said.
More than 200 people have reported to WRAL that they were diagnosed with cancer after spending time in Poe Hall in the last four months.
The most common diagnosis is breast cancer. Others, not included in the WRAL News count, have reported miscarriages, tumors, and neurological issues. All continue to wait for more information about what they possibly were exposed to. Chancellor Woodson said he would not comment on health concerns or health guidance until after the university completed testing of the building.
Last week, the university announced the results of the latest building testing would be released in the next couple of weeks. It reminded the NC State community that the building testing was far different than the HHE and reminded readers the CDC could not comment publicly on an open investigation. Yet, while the CDC cannot comment on open investigations, it told WRAL that NC State can.
Poe Hall: Federal agency had difficulty reaching university leaders for several weeks, records show
"There are no restrictions or policy preventing an organization or company involved in a NIOSH HHE from communicating information about the HHE," a CDC spokesperson wrote.
When WRAL asked NC State for comment, an NC State spokesperson wrote, "The university will share any updates with its community as appropriate."
Hundreds of NC State parents, students, and workers contacted WRAL News seeking updated information. Many say they didn’t hear back from NC State.
"We would like to know what our next step should be," wrote one parent whose daughter spent three years studying in Poe Hall.
"Please let me know if you have any updates on the investigation," wrote another.
"How do we go about getting information?" asked a woman whose husband is battling cancer.
Others, not living in the area, lamented that the university had only alerted students and workers to the toxic chemicals they found in Poe Hall. Alumni living in other parts of the country said they had no idea about the situation until news articles were forwarded to them.
'What are they hiding?': Petition alleges NCSU destroyed evidence in Poe Hall
"We learned about this from WRAL," wrote a former grad student battling an immune disease.
On Tuesday, the College Coordinating Committee will hold a virtual meeting about Poe Hall, hosted by university employee Dr. Bradly Davis. Davis was hired by the university last year to “constructively solve problems” and offer conflict and negotiation training. The meeting announcement noted that Davis would not provide "guidance" or "legal" advice.
