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Straight
Track #159
Asbestos:
Railroads' Quiet KillerGeorge
Brugess
Hoey & Farina Attorney
1-888-425-1212
As early as 1920,
railroad management knew that asbestos was a health hazard for employees.
Asbestos, however, was deemed indispensable as insulation between a
locomotive’s steam boiler and its protective outer shell. |
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As a result,
most railroads did nothing to abate this health hazard or warn railroad
employees of the danger.
By federal regulation,
locomotive boilers had to be periodically inspected. This involved
removing the outer shell and stripping the asbestos insulation off the
boiler. During this process, the air in the roundhouse was filled with
millions of microscopic asbestos fibers, each potentially fatal to the
unlucky soul who inhaled it.
After the boiler was
stripped clean of asbestos and inspected, the process was repeated as
asbestos was lagged onto the boiler before the shell was installed. During
the re-lagging process, the air in the roundhouse was again filled with
tiny dagger-like asbestos fibers.
It is not known how many
railroad workers became sick and died from exposure to asbestos as a
result of the lagging process, but certainly there was a great loss of
life due to asbestos exposure in the roundhouse.
Deadly
Exposure, No Industry Response
By 1970, it was
indisputable that asbestos exposure caused a variety of illnesses
including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the chest. One
would think that an industry as sophisticated as the railroad would be
aware of, and take precautions against, exposing their employees to such a
dangerous material. Not so.
There is a certain commuter railroad that owns a large, old,
steam-heated commuter rail station. A labyrinth of pipes in steam
tunnels beneath the station provides the heat to the downtown
station. Starting in 1985, and continuing for many years thereafter,
this commuter railroad assigned its employees to remove and repair
the asbestos insulation covering the steam pipes in the tunnels. For
years these employees worked day in and day out in the tunnels under
the station removing and replacing asbestos.
Much like the old days in the steam locomotive roundhouse, these
railroad pipefitters breathed in copious amounts of deadly asbestos
fibers. Other railroad employees called the workers “the
snowmen” due to the fact when they emerged from the tunnels at the
end of the day they were covered from head to toe with white
asbestos dust.
It was not until the late 1970s, when the connection was made
between the prevalence of mesothelioma in railroad workers and their
on-duty exposure to asbestos, that the first Federal Employers’
Liability Act asbestos case was filed. Unfortunately, scores of
railroad roundhouse workers had already died due to asbestos
exposure without any compensation from the railroad.
Asbestos is still present to a great extend in railroad buildings
and repair shops, especially older structures.
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Common
Places Containing Asbestos |
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Areas
sprayed for fireproofing
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Pipe
and boiler insulation
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Wall
and ceiling insulation
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Floor
and ceiling tiles
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Putties,
caulks and cements
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Roofing
shingles
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Siding
shingles
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Wall
and ceiling texture
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Joint
compound
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Brake
and clutch linings |
In addition, for years railroads provided asbestos rope – soaked
in diesel fuel – to section gangs. The rope when burned was used
to heat rail in order to make repairs.
The same indestructible quality that makes asbestos such an
efficient insulator also makes it wreak havoc with the body when it
is inhaled. The body cannot break down asbestos fibers. Once they
become lodged in the lungs or other tissue, they remain in place and
cause various diseases. Asbestos has been mainly linked to:
Asbestosis:
A non-cancerous lung disease. Asbestos fibers in the lungs cause scarring
which results in shortness of breath. There is no treatment for asbestosis
and it is typically disabling or fatal.
Lung
cancer:
Lung cancer causes the largest number of deaths from working with
asbestos. If you work with asbestos regularly and smoke cigarettes, you
are 90 times more likely to develop lung cancer than someone who does not
work with asbestos or smoke.
Mesothelioma:
A rare cancer involving the thin membrane around the lungs, chest, abdomen
and heart. The only known cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure.
Mesothelioma is always fatal. In its end stages, the victim literally
drowns as body fluids fill the lungs.
Asbestos
Danger Still High
Asbestos will continue to be a health concern far into the future,
primarily due to the continued use of asbestos containing products.
In 1999, the United States produced 6,000 metric tons of asbestos,
and imported 15,000 metric tons of asbestos. Last year, the U.S.
used an estimated 15,000 metric tons of asbestos, with the rest
exported or stockpiled. Worldwide 1,790,000 metric tons of asbestos
was mined last year.
Asbestos remains a real health hazard in the workplace, and everyone
should be aware of the danger posed by asbestos exposure.
If
you are concerned about asbestos in your workplace, please call
Hoey, Farina & Downes for a free consultation with one of our
experienced attorneys.
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