Railroads did not properly protect workers from toxic chemicals

Industrial solvents and chemicals that were used by railroad companies up until the 1980s and 90s have been found to cause toxic encephalopathy. This degenerative brain disease displays similar symptoms to other diseases like Alzheimer’s, but is a result of usually prolonged exposure to harsh solvents like trichloroethylene (TCE) and others.

These chemicals, powerful degreasers, were used to clean locomotives and components. Often workers would climb down into a hole called “the pit” to get underneath the locomotives. TCE was rubbed or sprayed from 55-gallon barrels onto the components, exposing the workers directly to the solvents. To make matters worse, the fumes were heavier than the air around them, so naturally flowed to the lowest point like water to a lake. This means that the fumes never left the pit.

There were several regulations put into place even before the full extent of the solvents on the human body were known. Areas that used TCE and other chemicals were to be well ventilated, and workers were supposed to be given protective gear such as masks to prevent inhalation.

However this was rarely the case. Although workers did not know the possible long-term effects of solvent exposure (unlike the companies they worked for), they saw the short-term effects first hand. Often they would use a “buddy system” to look out for each other. One would go into the pit while one or more others would keep an eye on him to make sure he came out. Workers reported of getting so “high and drunk” on the fumes that often other workers had to go down to haul them out. Despite these reports, railroad companies routinely refused to allow the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to inspect rail yards.

In the mid-1980s, the first cases of toxic encephalopathy were being recognized. Again, it is possible – even probable – that many cases over the years went undiagnosed simply because nobody understood the effects of solvents and their connection to the brain disease. Even today the condition is not well known by the average doctor, and diagnosis is difficult because its symptoms are similar to other diseases.

But it is a very real disease, and although individual cases might be difficult to diagnose if it isn’t being looked for, laboratory tests have proven its existence.

If you or a loved one has suffered mild to severe symptoms of toxic encephalopathy, contact your doctor or a specialist as soon as possible. Then contact a Jim S. Adler & Associates personal injury lawyer. We can help you get compensation to reimburse you for medical bills and lost work, and cover you for any future bills to follow. Don’t suffer needlessly, let us help you get the compensation you deserve by contacting us for a free case review.

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