Locomotive
Engineers and Conductors

Asbestos, Locomotive Engineers & Cancer

Diesel exhaust isn’t the only workplace exposure for locomotive engineers and conductors. Asbestos insulation was historically used in cab heater lines, steam boilers, steam generators and the Y pipe that leads to the cab heater. One of the workers who removed that asbestos from locomotive cabs has testified that when he was removing it, the asbestos was routinely in a damaged/friable condition – a condition which would have contaminated the cab’s air with asbestos fibers. Locomotive crews have testified that they regularly rested their boots on the insulated heating pipe, something they probably wouldn’t have done had the railroad bothered to tell them that the pipe was covered in asbestos. As late as the 1980s, locomotive manufacturers were still relying upon asbestos-containing parts in their new locomotives.  BNSF Railroad’s asbestos removal program did not begin in earnest until December 1997 and BNSF was still removing asbestos from its locomotives as of 2009.

In addition to the asbestos exposures inside the locomotives, many brakeman, conductors and engineers would have been exposed to asbestos via the composition brake shoes used on the locomotives and cars.  Before they pulled the cabooses out of service, crews in the cabooses were exposed to asbestos dust via the application of the train brakes.  These exposures were particularly bad in the Central Appalachian Coal Belt where crews operated heavy coal trains down steep grades, creating plumes of brake dust.  These asbestos containing brake shoes and linings, often sold under the brand name COBRA, were phased out around 1980.  A more detailed discussion of the use of asbestos by the railroad industry can be found here.

These workplace asbestos exposures can lead to mesothelioma and various cancers, including lung, laryngeal, stomach, colorectal and kidney. The hazards of asbestos have been recognized since the 1930s and unfortunately, today’s railroad workers are likely still experiencing asbestos exposures.

Secondhand Smoke, Railroad Conductors & Cancer

We represent many railroad workers who were lifelong non-smokers. Unfortunately for them, a majority of their coworkers smoked cigarettes. Secondhand smoke inside locomotive cabs and cabooses was notoriously bad in the 1970s and 80s. As a result, we have represented locomotive engineers who were never smokers – but were still diagnosed with lung cancer.

Passive or secondhand smoke has been designated as a “known human carcinogen” by the EPA. The railroads knew that fact for decades, but many of them did not wholly ban smoking until around 2004-2005. Even after that, few of the railroads actually enforced their smoking policy.

Other Exposures and Diseases

Our clients have described a whole host of other toxic exposures while working in locomotives, rail yards and industries. Many endured regular exposures to creosote and silica – two other known carcinogens. Some locomotive crews worked herbicide spray trains and endured significant herbicide exposures. Railroads frequently serve industries such as steel mills and refineries which in turn exposes the conductors and brakeman working on the ground to coke emissions and chemical fumes (among other things). These unique railroad exposures can lead to the cancers described above and to other illnesses, such as Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Myelodysplastic Syndrome, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Silicosis and Reactive Airway Disease.  The lawyers at Diesel Injury Law, working alongside our industrial hygiene experts, will take all such exposures into account when building your case against the railroad.