What are the risks to railroad workers given the exposure to diesel fumes and toxins?

Video Transcript

There have been a number of very serious exposure cases associated with railroad work. Diesel fumes is one of them, but also there’s been other exposure cases. For instance, when railroad cars are carrying certain chemicals and they’re in a derailment. Those chemical spill. We’ve handled a number of cases where chlorine exposure has been a serious injury. We’ve had cases where railroad employees and lungs were seriously damaged to the point they couldn’t even go back to work following their injuries.

So, exposures on the railroad are not just limited to diesel fumes and the sorts of things associated with the operation of the railroad, they are also associated with the goods the railroad is carrying. But, if you suspect, as a railroad worker, you’ve been exposed to any kind of toxins, you need to get to a doctor.

If it’s, for instance, we were talking about chlorine gas, you would pretty much know that instantly. But some exposures hurt you over the long term. So if you’re experiencing any problems, see a doctor. Tell them about your job. Tell them about the various exposures, and it would be up to your medical professionals to relate those back to a workplace injury.