There has been a pronounced link found between railroad work and cancer among those who work on the rail lines due to on the job exposure to carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals and materials, such as benzene, according to research.

Additionally, many recent studies have linked railroad work to several different kinds of cancer diagnoses including mesothelioma, multiple myeloma, leukemia, lung cancer, bone cancer, bladder cancer, and kidney cancer.

Although benzene has been banned in consumer products in the United States for over 20 years, railroad workers who were exposed to the dangerous chemical may have developed their cancer condition from being exposed to the carcinogen several years prior. Other carcinogens that have led to the link between railroad work and cancer development have included exposure to products such as asbestos and welding fumes.

Unfortunately, railroad workers may not even know they have cancer because the cancers oftentimes go undiagnosed early on. Advanced stage cancer can be much more difficult to treat and lead to additional complications and even death.

Railroad Work and Cancer

Railroad workers may have been exposed to several different highly dangerous chemicals, according to research, one of which is known as benzene. Although once believed to only cause lung cancer, there are other types of cancers linked to the hazardous chemical.

According to PubChem, part of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, benzene is defined as a “clear, colorless, highly flammable and volatile, liquid aromatic hydrocarbon with a gasoline-like odor.” Benzene can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled and is known to cause lung cancer. Benzene is a by-product of oil refining processes and can also be found in crude oils.

Some of the cancers linked to benzene include the following:

• Multiple Myeloma
• Rectal Cancer
• Leukemia
• Throat Cancer
• Laryngeal Cancer
• Stomach Cancer
• Mesothelioma
• Kidney Cancer
• Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Esophageal Cancer
• Bladder Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
• Other Cancer

Other carcinogens that have led railroad workers to develop cancer has also included asbestos. In a recent study titled Asbestos-related Disease in Railroad Workers. A Cross-Sectional Study, published in PubMed, researchers discovered that when individuals are exposed to asbestos there are increased risks for the development of malignant mesothelioma, a dangerous cancer that occurs in the thin layer of tissue that covers the majority of internal organs.

According to the Mayo Clinic, mesothelioma is a deadly and aggressive from of cancer. Although treatments are available, there is no cure for people with mesothelioma.

Symptoms for someone with pleural mesothelioma, the more common type of mesothelioma that occurs among people, include painful coughing, unexplained weight loss, shortness of breath, chest pain under the rib cage, and unusual lumps of tissue under the skin on the chest.

Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA)

To help protect railroad workers from being exposed to carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals, Congress enacted the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) in 1908. It was established to help railroad workers obtain legal recovery if they’ve suffered from serious injuries of developed cancer from exposure to hazardous substances during their line of work.

Railroad companies may be deemed negligent if they have been found to have committed some of the following: 1) failed to provide a safe working environment; 2) failed to provide safe equipment and tools; 3) failed to sufficiently train railroad workers and other employees; and 4) failed to perform mandatory maintenance and inspection protocol procedures.