Many employees of the railroad industry are exposed to cancer causing substances on a daily basis. Substances such as asbestos and benzene create a cancer risk for railroad workers.

Asbestos: Cancer Risk for Railroad Workers

Asbestos, a significant cancer risk for railroad workers, is a naturally occurring mineral that is used in certain insulation materials. Left alone, it is not dangerous. When asbestos is disturbed, persons nearby can inhale or ingest tiny asbestos fibers.

These fibers cannot be exhaled. As a result, these fibers lodge themselves in the lungs, surrounding tissue and surrounding organs. Over many years and over years of exposure, these fiber cause tissue to become inflamed and instigate the development of certain cancers.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen. The American Cancer Society notes that asbestos inhalation is linked with certain lung cancers and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is cancer of the lining of the lungs and is almost always caused by asbestos exposure.

Benzene: Cancer Risk for Railroad Workers

Benzene exposure also poses a cancer risk for railroad workers and is also a known carcinogen. Benzene sometimes occurs in nature, but most often is produced by the burning of diesel fuel.

The use of benzene in consumer products has been banned, but the chemical still occurs in places where diesel fuel is regularly burned. Those who work in industries where this happens may be exposed to this dangerous substance on a daily basis.

Benzene creates a cancer risk for railroad workers when it is inhaled or when a worker is exposed to it via contact with the skin. Some industrial solvents also contain benzene.

Benzene has been connected with bladder cancer, colon cancer, esophageal cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, kidney cancer, lung cancer, mesothelioma, multiple myeloma, rectal cancer, throat cancer, stomach cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia.

Because both of these substances that pose a cancer risk for railroad workers require long-term exposure, many railroad workers do not realize they have developed cancer until many years after they are no longer exposed to the substances. Also, they may not even connect a cancer diagnosis with asbestos or benzene exposure they might have experienced years previous.

Railroad companies are required to keep workers safe as they are obligated to do under the Federal Employees Liability Act, or FELA.

FELA allows railroad employees who are harmed because of unsafe work environments to seek financial compensation. Workers are allowed under FELA to recover compensation for injuries and lost wages if their railroad employer failed to provide reasonable care for its workers.

Railroad employer must provide a safe and reasonable place of work under FELA. Additionally, equipment that a worker uses, including tools, machinery and vehicles must also be safe. Proper safe work environment training and supervision must also be provided to workers.

If you or someone you love has been exposed to a cancer risk for railroad workers including asbestos or benzene, you may be entitled to legal compensation. It may benefit you to speak to an experienced attorney.