Oct. 15 Update

NC State continues to follow the facts and the science in the evaluation of Poe Hall. The Geosyntec report published this June — which was openly shared with the public, EPA and other agencies — provides the information that we need to move forward with remediation. While NC State will continue to communicate with EPA about remediation plans, we hope the ongoing NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) provides additional clarity.

The NC State HHE was opened by NIOSH at the university’s request this February and is a voluntary evaluation of potential workplace health hazards by an independent federal agency with experience and expertise in hazard identification and exposure assessment. NIOSH conducts its work independently and on its own timeline. This may mean there are stretches of time without any updates. However, the NC State community should know that the HHE is progressing and that we will continue to be responsive to NIOSH’s requests and share new information when available.

We also understand that beyond the building remediation and NIOSH’s HHE, individuals may be seeking their own answers. As part of a resolution of a pending legal matter, additional environmental testing in Poe Hall occurred in late July and early August. This testing was arranged and conducted by consultants retained by law firms purporting to represent certain individuals, and was focused on supporting potential legal claims. Because the results from this testing may be involved in future litigation, the university will not comment on them further at this time.

We acknowledge that people have health concerns, however, individual health and exposure questions are informed by many factors and are not something that NC State can answer on a general or specific level. While we may not be able to comment on this information directly, we continue to encourage anyone with medical concerns to engage with their medical providers. For its part, NC State will continue to provide updates on the remediation plans as they take shape, and will also share the NIOSH report when it becomes available.