Generations Helped Build the Nation’s Railroads and Now Live With the Hidden Cost of Toxic Exposure
“In Pennsylvania, rail towns like Altoona, Enola, and Harrisburg weren’t just job sites—they were livelihoods and legacies. But many of the men and women we speak with were never told about the diesel fumes, the welding smoke, or the asbestos dust. They were proud to work for the railroad, but the railroad didn’t protect them.”
Joe Lyon,
Pennsylvania Railroad Injury FELA Lawyer | The Lyon Firm
Pennsylvania has been the backbone of America’s rail network for over a century, and its skilled railroad workers helped forge the industrial freight lines that moved coal, steel, and cargo across the U.S.
From the humming switchyards of Reading to the brakemen and engineers in Conway, these jobs built communities across the Commonwealth and supported entire families with hard but honest work.
But decades later, many rail workers from Pennsylvania—both active and retired—are being diagnosed with lung cancer, leukemia, mesothelioma, and other occupational diseases. For many of them, the cause can be traced back to years of daily exposure to toxic substances such as diesel exhaust, asbestos, benzene, and silica dust.
If you, your spouse, or a loved one was diagnosed with cancer or terminal illness after working for a rail company in Pennsylvania, you may be eligible to file a railroad exposure lawsuit.
Call The Lyon Firm at (513) 381-2333 or request a free case review with a Pennsylvania railroad cancer lawyer online.
Pennsylvania Rail Workers Faced Dangerous Exposure Every Day
Despite federal regulations and decades of safety science, many railroad employers in Pennsylvania failed to provide adequate respiratory protection, air monitoring, or employee training—leading to prolonged and unnecessary toxic exposure across job sites.
Sources of Hazardous Exposure in Pennsylvania Rail Yards
- Diesel exhaust and soot. Locomotives, idling trains, repairs in closed shops—these produced fine particulate diesel emissions, which workers inhaled daily. The World Health Organization has classified diesel engine exhaust as a known human carcinogen.
- Asbestos-containing materials. Used widely in brake linings, boilers, gaskets, pipe insulation, and electrical components, asbestos dust was disturbed regularly inside shops and along the tracks, especially during repairs, rebuilds, and cleanouts.
- Benzene-based solvents and fuels. Present in degreasers, fuels, lubricants, and adhesives—a Group 1 carcinogen linked to AML, MDS, and other blood cancers.
- Silica dust in ballast and construction zones. Cutting, grinding, or disturbing rock ballast released respirable crystalline silica (another lung carcinogen), and most workers were never provided with approved filtration masks.
- Creosote (wood preservative). Found on railroad ties, trestles, bridges, and utility poles. Creosote soaks through gloves and skin, and long-term contact has been linked to skin, kidney, and bladder cancers.
- Welding smoke, grinding dust, and manganese fumes. Workers in confined machine shops, particularly welders, pipefitters, and rebuild crews, experienced intensified exposure to metal-rich particulates and solvent fumes.
You didn’t have to work directly with hazardous materials to be harmed. If your shop, cab, or yard was full of unventilated fumes, toxic dust, or chemical vapors, you were at risk.
Which Pennsylvania Railroad Workers Are at Increased Cancer Risk?
Experts have concluded that almost anyone who regularly inhales or ingests known carcinogens are at a heightened risk for developing certain forms of occupational cancer. Some positions at Pennsylvania rail yards carry more risk than others, however. Any worker who spends much of their workday in a confined, poorly ventilated workshop may be at a risk.
Machinists, welders, electricians and pipefitters generally fit this description, and have been known to work long hours in stuffy machine shops, exposed to diesel exhaust, asbestos, and welding fumes.
Conductors, engineers, trackmen, carmen, brakemen, and signal operators all faced a good deal of diesel fuel exposure in the field. Many former workers can describe coming home after work and having difficulty removing the pervasive smell of diesel from their clothing and their hair.
ABOUT THE LYON FIRM
Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.
The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.
NO COST UNLESS WE WIN
The Firm offers contingency fees, advancing all costs of the litigation, and accepting the full financial risk, allowing our clients full access to the legal system while reducing the financial stress while they focus on their healthcare and financial needs.
Free Consultation With a Pennsylvania Railroad Lung Cancer Lawyer
The diesel fumes. The brake dust. The chemical solvents no one warned you about.
You breathed them in for decades because your job demanded it, even when companies knew the risks and chose not to act. Maybe it was Altoona. Maybe Reading or Conway Yard. Wherever you worked, the result was the same: exposure without protection.
Now you’re facing cancer or have already lost someone who did. But you don’t have to take that burden on alone.
Call The Lyon Firm at (513) 381-2333 or send us a confidential message online. We’ll review the work you did, the diagnosis you’ve received, and the legal claim you may have.
This isn’t about blame. It’s about responsibility. And it’s time to demand it.
Guidance For Filing a Railroad Cancer Lawsuit
It may sound daunting to take legal action against a past employer that may have been negligent in protecting your safety and well-being. That is why you are encouraged to hire an experienced railroad cancer attorney who can guide you through the complex legal process. We assume all tasks related to your case and take all financial risks. You only need to provide your medical records and work history, and we can take the lead from there.
