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How Can a Rail Yard Engineer Get Mesothelioma by Occupational Exposure to Asbestos?
Rail yard engineers operate train engines within the rail yard so that they can keep trains organized and on schedule. They may drive switching or other locomotive dinkey engines. They may also drive locomotives to maintenances or prepare them for locomotive engineers. Sometimes, they drive them in quarry, construction projections or industrial plants. Some rail yard engineers have access to remote locomotive technology that allows them to move freight cars in rail yards.
There are more than 300,000 miles of railroad tracks in the United States where rail yard engineers, railroad inspectors and other railroad workers worked. Asbestos was often present in trains and other railroad structures. Asbestos was included in public driving cabins, carriages, floor tiles, wallboards, floor tiles and other construction materials. Asbestos was also used in brake pads, brake linings and clutches, so rail yard engineers could have been exposed to asbestos from any of these materials.
Locations in the United States for the Highest Employment Rates for Rail Yard Engineers
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 5,690 rail yard engineers currently employed in the United States. States with the highest employment rates for rail yard engineers include:
- Texas
- Pennsylvania
- Ohio
- North Carolina
- Indiana
Similar Occupations as Rail Yard Engineers
Similar occupations as rail yard engineers include:
- Bus drivers
- Delivery truck drivers and driver/sales workers
- Hand laborers and material movers
- Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers
- Locomotive engineers
- Material moving machine operators
- Railroad brake, signal and switch operators
- Railroad inspectors
- Railroad conductors
- Railroad yardmasters
- Subway and streetcar operators
- Water transportation workers
Lawsuits and Settlements Involving Railroad Workers and Mesothelioma
There have been several lawsuits brought by former railroad workers due to their exposure to asbestos. For example, the widow of a railroad worker was awarded a $7.4 million verdict in 2006 against CSX Transportation. The jury found the company negligent in not completing air sampling for asbestos hazards until 1980 and when a 1986 air sampling report showed asbestos dust in excess of safe levels.
Railroad workers who develop an occupational illness do not generally have access to the workers’ compensation claim if the railroad they work for operates in multiple states. Instead, they must file a claim under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act and prove the employer was negligent. If the railroad only operates in one state, the injured victim may be able to sue manufacturers of asbestos-containing products that caused the victims exposure to asbestos.
Studies Related to Asbestos and Rail Yard Engineers
Numerous studies have explored the connection between railroad work and asbestos exposure. For example, the study entitled “Past exposure to asbestos among active railroad workers” compared the health risks of railroad workers who worked on steam engines. Researchers analyzed 514 railroad workers and found 21% of them who were 50 years old or older had likely exposure to asbestos even though their exposure was usually relatively short.
Another study found that lung cancer cases were more than three times more likely to occur among operating railroad workers like rail yard engineers than nonoperating workers. A 2015 study conducted on Belgian railroad workers found that railroad workers were more than three times more likely to die of mesothelioma compared to members of the general population.
Types of Asbestos Products Used by Rail Yard Engineers
Rail yard engineers may have been exposed to a variety of asbestos-containing products that were used to construct trains or from cargo they carried such as:
- Adhesives and sealants
- Boiler linings and firebox housing casings
- Brake pads and brake linings
- Cement and cement ties
- Clutches and clutch plates
- Electrical panel insulation
- Fireproofing materials in engine rooms
- Floor and ceiling tiles and roofing materials
- Gaskets and valves
- Hoses for hydraulic and steam supply lines
- Insulation
- Packing and rope
- Paint
- Pumps
- Soundproofing materials in engines and passenger cars
- Wallboard and plaster
Manufacturers of Products Used by Rail Yard Engineers
Rail yard engineers may have been exposed to asbestos products manufactured or used by the following companies:
- Aberdeen
- Allied Signal Corporation
- Amtrak
- P. Green
- Armstrong Cork
- Asbestos Manufacturing Co.
- Asbestos Textile Co.
- Bendix
- Birmingham Southern Railroad Company
- BNSF Railway Co.
- Carolina & Western Railway Co., Inc.
- CertainTeed Products
- Celotex
- Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company
- Conrail
- CSX Transportation
- Eagle-Picher
- Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad Co.
- Eternit
- Federal-Mogul
- Ferodo
- Flintkote Co.
- GAF Corporation
- Georgia Pacific
- Gatke Corp.
- Genesee & Wyoming Inc.
- Harbison-Walker
- K. Porter, Inc.
- Illinois Central Industries, Inc.
- Iowa Interstate Railroad, Ltd.
- Johns Manville
- Kansas City Southern Railway Company
- Keasbey & Mattison’s Bell Asbestos Mines
- Metro-North Commuter Railroad Co.
- National Gypsum
- Norfolk Southern
- Owen-Corning Fiberglas Corp.
- Rapid American
- Raybestos-Manhattan
- Seminole Gulf Railway LP
- Watco Transportation Services, Inc.
