Railroad workers, a group consistently surrounded by products with dangerous chemicals, may risk getting cancer due to creosote exposure.

Creosote exposure, as well as exposure to other chemicals like benzene, are both common during work on the railroad. Unfortunately, benzene and creosote exposure have both been linked with an increased risk of cancer diagnosis.

But workers may not even be aware of the connection  between railroad work and cancer. Symptoms may not surface for years or, in many cases, even decades after the initial creosote exposure. This can make connecting your cancer diagnosis with creosote exposure from railroad work decades earlier difficult. Knowing that creosote exposure is common for railroad workers and that resulting cancer can lay dormant for decades can help cancer patients to start getting answers.

What is Creosote?

Creosote encompasses several substances produced during the treatment of coal, wood, or creosote bush resin. Creosote was widely used for centuries, but it went unregulated. One of the main industries that used creosote material was the railroad industry, which led to thousands of miles of railroad material all across the U.S. still coated with creosote.

Though working around creosote is very common for railroad workers, creosote exposure has been linked with a number of very serious health problems, including several types of cancer. The most prominent of these cancers are scrotum cancer and skin cancer.

Patients have also reported side effects like convulsions, liver disease, and even death in connection with creosote exposure.

A person is more likely to suffer these or other serious side effects after longer periods and larger amounts of creosote exposure, However, even lower levels of creosote exposure over a longer period of time can increase a person’s risk of these side effects.

Another dangerous chemical found on the railroad is benzene, which has also been linked with several kinds of cancer. Benzene is a known carcinogen, or substance capable of causing cancer. The use of benzene in consumer products was banned in the U.S. over twenty years ago, but many railroad products still contain benzene, placing workers at risk.

Benzene exposure has been linked with lung, bladder, kidney, colon, stomach, throat, and esophageal cancers, as well as Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, mesothelioma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia.

Filing Lawsuit Over Cancer from Creosote Exposure

A growing number of railroad workers and former railroad workers have begun filing lawsuits against former employers over benzene and creosote exposure that has allegedly led to diagnosis with some form of cancer.

Railroad companies are responsible for providing workers with a safe environment to work in, and those who allowed creosote exposure or benzene exposure may be liable to their workers under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA).

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with some form of cancer after creosote exposure or exposure to another dangerous chemical like benzene during railroad work, you may be able to file a railroad worker lawsuit. While filing a lawsuit cannot reverse the damage of dangerous cancer or bring a loved one back to life, it can help to offset the financial damages often incurred by medical expenses and lost wages.