Regular, ongoing exposure to diesel fumes translates to a link between railroad work and lung cancer.

Locomotives run on diesel fuel, which emits exhaust full of hundreds of compounds, many of which are known carcinogens. Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, benzene and other cancer-causing chemicals are carried through the air by particulates, the part of diesel exhaust that is seen as dark smoke.

The microscopic particulates that can’t be seen make their way into tissue located deep within the lungs. When the chemicals cause inflammation and lung tissue damage, a railroad worker can develop “diesel asthma,” which is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Even though these particulates have been known to contain carcinogens for more than 30 years, many railroad workers are repeatedly exposed to them for long periods of time on their jobs. Medical studies have linked railroad work and lung cancer because of the long-standing, near-daily exposure to diesel exhaust.

Railroad Work and Lung Cancer

Long-term exposure to diesel fumes has linked railroad work and lung cancer. The most obvious way to alleviate diesel fume exposure would be to locate the exhaust stack so that the fumes don’t easily reach the workers.

Unfortunately, the height and location of many locomotive smoke stacks allow engine exhaust to flow into the engine cabs. With the older configurations, engines had a long hood with the exhaust stack in front of the engineer’s cab. When the train moved forward, the diesel exhaust would float back toward the engine cab’s open windows.

The possibility of railroad work and lung cancer being linked was alluded to as far back as 1955 when lawyer Robert Straub gave a presentation at a meeting of railroad claims executives.

Straub presented “Potential Dangers from Exposure to Diesel Locomotive Exhaust” when he was employed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railways Company, which later became CSX. He expressed concern that ongoing exposure to diesel fumes “could initiate harmful results.”

Ten years later at an annual meeting of railroad medical doctors, one of topics was the possible link between diesel fumes and cancer.

Lawsuits Filed on Behalf of Railroad Workers

Many lawsuits accusing the railroad companies of violating the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) are making their way through the courts. FELA dictates that employers must provide a safe place for employees to work.

One of the first cases to result in a jury verdict in favor of a railroad worker was recorded in Georgia in 1999. A man named Baker worked as a railroad engineer for 18 years and died of naso-pharyngeal cancer, which forms inside the mouth. His surviving wife sued Norfolk Southern, alleging the company required her husband to be exposed to diesel exhaust for prolonged periods of time.

The lawsuit also alleged that Norfolk Southern violated the Locomotive Inspection Act, which dictates that diesel exhaust was to be kept outside of the cab where her husband worked.

Breathing in diesel fumes for six days a week, four to 12 hours a day caused his cancer, decided a jury.

If you have completed years of railroad work and lung cancer or any other type of cancer has developed because of your exposure to diesel fumes, you could be eligible for compensation.