Testing showed five rooms in Poe Hall at NC State University contained materials with high levels of PCBs, a likely carcinogen. (Photo: Lisa Sorg)
Five rooms in Poe Hall at N.C. State University are contaminated with PCBs at levels up to 38 times greater than EPA standards for building materials, according to sampling results obtained by Newsline this week under Public Records law.
The results are here, and Newsline has annotated them to explain what they mean.
University officials last month temporarily closed the seven-story building after initial tests showed the presence of PCBs, a probable carcinogen in various building materials, including in several air handling units. Poe Hall houses the College of Education and the Department of Psychology.
Raleigh’s WRAL first reported on the building’s closure.
Several people who worked in the building had reported black liquid was dripping onto their desks. An employee filed a complaint with the state Department of Labor in September, WRAL reported, but the university didn’t close the building until Nov. 17.
What you need to know
Here is a list of the affected rooms and the levels of Aroclor 1262, a type of PCB, detected. In two cases, a second type of PCB was detected, Aroclor 1254, which is more toxic. Sampling was conducted in October and November.
An important number is 50 parts per million or greater for insulation and other solid materials: That’s the level at which the materials must be removed, according to the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.
For the swipe samples, the key figure is 10 parts per billion in a 4-inch-by-4-inch square. This threshold applies to non-porous surfaces, like metal tables, in “high occupancy areas,” such as classrooms and offices.
Room 520E, part of a suite of 11 faculty offices
- “Bulk samples”of insulation — 790 ppm and 423 ppm
- Door gasket — 810 ppm
- Duct insulation — 940 ppm
- Fiber — 8.45 ppm
Room 417, instructional computing facility
- Insulation — 592 ppm
- Fiber — 98.2 ppm
- Swipe samples, 8.5 and 6.2 ppb in a 4-by-4-inch square
Room 310-P, faculty office
- Insulation dust – 194 ppm and 170 ppm
- Swipe sample — 1.3 ppb in a 4-by-4-inch square
Fifth-floor women’s bathroom
- Dust – 1,900 ppm
Room 100
- Air handling unit – 59 ppm. A second type of PCB was detected, Aroclor 1254, at 25 ppm. However, this is a more toxic type of PCB, according to federal health officials, and can harm the kidneys and sperm motility at lower levels.
Room 730, faculty office
- Swipe sample 12 ppb in a 4-by-4-inch square, plus 2.3 ppb of Aroclor 1254
- It also had PCB-contaminated materials in the insulation, but at levels below 50 ppm: 46.3 and 9.8,
Room 732C, faculty office
- Swipe sample 1.8 ppb in a 4-by-4-inch square
Other air handling units, without designated rooms:
- Unit 5 — 52 ppm and 89 ppm
- Unit 6 — 750 ppm
PCBs can be absorbed through the skin, water, air and food, especially fish. The EPA and FDA have set maximum contaminant limits for water and food, while OSHA governs exposure in the workplace, primarily in the air.
The level of risk depends not only on the amount of exposure but the length of time. A person who worked in a contaminated office 40 hours a week for 10 years would be at greater risk than someone who visited that same office once a week for a half hour.
Blood tests can indicate levels of exposure, according to federal health officials, but might not predict health effects.
Long-term effects include cancer of the liver and biliary tract (gallbladder, pancreas, bile ducts). Exposure can also suppress the immune system, according to the National Institutes of Health, as well as cause thyroid and reproductive disorders. Women are at high risk of giving birth to infants of low birth weight.
Short-term issues include acne or other skin lesions, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
In a statement issued in late November, Warwick Arden, executive vice chancellor and provost, and Charles Maimone, executive vice chancellor, wrote that the university is hiring an outside consultant “to conduct more comprehensive environmental testing to help us better understand the environment in the building.
“Until we have this information, we cannot provide definitive guidance about what — if any — remediation or cleaning is needed or whether the findings are cause for concern from a health perspective. Please know that as soon as we have additional context and guidance, we will share it.”
From 1929 to 1977 Monsanto manufactured PCBs for use as coolants and insulating fluids for electrical equipment and machinery, such as transformers, capacitors, even ballasts in fluorescent lights. The EPA banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1979. However, because PCBs don’t break down in the environment, contamination can still be found in buildings that were constructed or renovated between 1950 and 1979. Poe Hall was built in 1971.
Because of their widespread use, PCBs could be present in 60% of building stock, according to Environmental Health and Engineering. This includes schools. The New York Times reported this week that a jury in Washington State determined that Monsanto should pay $857 million to former students and parent volunteers, who said they had been exposed to PCBs at Sky Valley Education Center and became sick.
Monsanto is appealing the verdict and what the company called in a prepared statement, “constitutionally excessive damages.”
PCBs are found at many Superfund sites nationwide, including the former Ward Transformer site near the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Contamination from that site entered Lake Crabtree, Crabtree Creek and Brier Creek, prompting state officials to issue a fish consumption advisory.
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