A group of NC State alumni, former university employees and family members of deceased students has filed a lawsuit against chemical manufacturer Monsanto and a consulting firm for alleged exposure to toxic materials inside Poe Hall, according to a report from WRAL.
Monsanto is a chemical corporation that was founded in 1901, producing durable PCBs for several construction sites to educational buildings in the 20th century. After the EPA banned the use of PCB chemicals in construction sites in 1979, Poe Hall remained as it was built eight years earlier.
The lawsuit alleges that Monsanto, now owned by Bayer AG, knowingly produced and sold polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, used in Poe Hall’s construction during the early 1970s. Plaintiffs said long-term exposure to the chemicals led to breast cancer and other illnesses across generations of faculty, staff and students.
The group is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and has requested a jury trial.
Monsanto denied wrongdoing in a statement to WRAL, saying the company “will vigorously defend the litigation” and that “relevant and reliable science does not support a causal connection between low-level exposure to PCBs and the illnesses alleged.” Monsanto added that NC State was responsible for maintaining the building and had been aware of PCB contamination for decades.
The plaintiffs also accuse Matrix Health & Safety Consultants, a private firm hired to conduct environmental testing on campus, of negligence for allegedly failing to recommend indoor air testing in Poe Hall during 2018 surveys.
The lawsuit is separate from an ongoing case filed in January by NC State community members against the university itself, which claims administrators ignored health complaints and delayed PCB testing for years. That complaint was the first personal injury lawsuit related to illnesses tied to the building, which has remained closed since November 2023.
NC State filed its own lawsuit against Monsanto in October, alleging the company’s materials were responsible for the contamination and seeking reimbursement for investigation, remediation and potential demolition costs.
Aside from NC State, states such as Connecticut and Vermont have also filed lawsuits for PCB contamination against Monsanto.
Since the building’s closure, more than 200 people have reported links between time spent in Poe Hall and cancer diagnoses, according to WRAL’s reporting.
NC State responded to the legal filing to WRAL, stating that “NC State will continue to pursue accountability against Monsanto for damages from the PCBs it manufactured and furnished to construct Poe Hall.”
