rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/pcb-free-unc?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-pcb-free-unc' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Campus Community Alliance for Environmental Justice https://actionnetwork.org/groups/campus-community-alliance-for-environmental-justice https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/petitions/photos/000/663/461/normal/pcb-free_unc_(3).png UNC system students, staff, faculty and alumni deserve a safe place to learn, work, research and lead. Since the closure of Poe Hall at NC State University in 2023, the dangers of PCBs have never been more clear. Every building in our system must be tested until we have a PCB-Free UNC! We are demanding that the Board of Governors of the UNC System ensures our world class campuses are leaders in every way: we need comprehensive testing across the entire system to make sure our campus communities are safe from harmful PCBs. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are human-made “forever chemicals” that were commonly used in building materials and electrical equipment until production was banned by the federal Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979. PCBs can be released from these materials into the air, water, and soil, which can then cause complications for people exposed to these highly toxic chemicals. The known health effects of PCBs include: cancers, skin conditions, liver and kidney damage, autoimmune and thyroid diseases, negative impacts to fertility and pregnancy, and other life-altering and potentially fatal illnesses. Especially from 1945 - 1979, the use of these toxic chemicals was routine and PCB materials remain prevalent in many of the buildings that are still in use today NC State has more than 70 buildings built prior to the 1979 PCB ban, including Poe Hall. After years of employee complaints, a whistleblower raised concerns about environmental contaminants in the education and psychology building to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services in August 2023. Poe Hall was closed in November 2023 when NC State administrators finally conducted limited bulk sampling that revealed the presence of toxic levels of PCBs in the building. As of June 2025, more than 600 NC State faculty, staff and alumni who were inside Poe Hall have been diagnosed with PCB-related illnesses. To date approximately 60 are confirmed dead including NC State professors and alumni. NC State University has yet to contact any of the alumni, students, faculty, or staff who were exposed to PCBs. Since Poe Hall was closed, at least four UNC System campuses (UNCA, UNCC, NC A&T, and UNCP) have conducted proactive PCB testing campaigns on their campuses, yet NC State and other campuses have not followed this reasonable course of action to ensure the health and safety for their students, staff, and faculty. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/pcb-free-unc