Making a mental connection between railroad work and bladder cancer is not typical when the average citizen considers occupational hazards. Yet, recent information has linked railroad work and bladder cancer as well as a host of other types of cancer stemming from routine exposure to harsh chemicals that are inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the largest organ in the human body, the skin, by railroad workers.

One of the biggest chemical contributors linking railroad work and bladder cancer is benzene. Benzene is created inadvertently by the burning of diesel fuel and is released into the environment. The benzene released while a train is moving in an open environment, like that of cars and trucks, is more easily dissipated as opposed to a train at a railway station.

In a station where several trains can come in daily, railroad workers can be exposed to more concentrated amounts of this dangerous substance in the air.

Benzene has a sweet odor somewhat reminiscent of gasoline. It needs to be present in relatively high percentages to be perceived by the nose. The scent does help people to walk away from potential toxic overload situations, but when workers are chronically exposed they lose a lot of this perception.

According to an article by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), benzene is a key ingredient in its clear-to-yellow liquid form used to make chemicals which support the manufacturing of various cleaning supplies, rubber and plastic materials, explosives, pesticides and herbicides. Today benzene is banned as an ingredient for home use items such as counter top kitchen appliances and toys.

While a lot of use has gone by the wayside, benzene is still a clear and present danger among chemicals used in the railroad industry as well as diesel. It is not the only occupational health hazard linking railroad work and bladder cancer, however.

Railway work and bladder cancer as well as lung cancer has been linked to welding fumes or vapors as well. The presence of toxic substances depends upon the materials being used in the welding process. While the fumes often contain metals that are necessary dietary contributions in small amounts, they can be toxic when inhaled in larger concentrations. The most common metal of this nature is manganese.

Manganese can collect in the lungs in high concentrations through welding fumes and lead to lung cancer. Manganese fume exposure has also been part of the equation associating railroad work and bladder cancer. Also, part of the trifecta of ailments that manganese fumes can produce is toxic encephalopathy—a build-up of metals in the brain with symptoms akin to Parkinson’s disease.

Exposure to creosote which is used on railway ties is another occupational danger. These dangers were and are the responsibility of the railroad companies to manage and protect their workers from. Under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), workers that were exposed to these hazards over at least a five-year career may have a legal claim.