Toxic Materials are Transported by Rail Daily

Have you been injured by exposure to toxic materials?

Rail yards provide maintenance, repairs and overhauls for their engines and rail cars. Current regulations mean that each engine will probably be out of service about every 3 months for inspection. When this happens, railroad operators usually take the opportunity to do maintenance and typically employ many of the available rail yard facilities to perform upkeep on these pieces of equipment.

These procedures can contribute to serious pollution in rail yards. This becomes more significant when one understands that many rail yards have been in service long before many Federal and state regulations and through many different owners. Because of this history, workers are faced with a workplace that, for decades, has been a dumping place for all types of hazardous materials.

Types of Rail Yard Contamination

The rail industry’s maintenance and repair techniques have not changed over much of its operational history, and the hazardous materials have not changed either.

The list of hazardous materials from maintenance operations can include:

Asbestos
Brake and hydraulic fluid
Locomotive coolant
Oil
Effluents and heavy metals from lead, cadmium, and nickel batteries
Lead and other heavy metals
Diesel fuel
Industrial grade solvents
Paint
Thinners
Residual cargo materials that have been improperly handled, such as those from tank car maintenance

HAZMAT Cargo

The railroad is a major transporter of bulk chemicals and industrial raw materials. As such, the railroad is responsible for the movement of a variety of cargo classified as hazmat.

Some of the classes of hazmat transported by railroad include:

"Toxic Inhalation Hazards" (TIH). This class of materials includes chemicals such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia.
Heavy metals associated with the use of coal and the disposal of coal ashes.
Explosives
Petrochemicals such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)
Acids and corrosives

Examples of substances transported by rail that have a hazmat classification are listed below. These chemicals can comprise the cargo being transported, or they can be a component of that cargo.

Pentachlorophenol (PCPs)
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Sodium borate and sodium nitrate
Ethyl benzene
Xylene
Vinyl Chloride
Trichloroethane
Trichloroethene
Methylene Chloride

Asbestos
Arsenic
Lead
Chrysene
Naphthalene
Dichlorobenzene
Benzene
Toluene
Creosote

Radioactive materials

Radioactive materials have been shipped in the United States for more than fifty years. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that each year, roughly three million packages containing radioactive material are transported by trucks, trains, boats and barges, and airplanes. The packages may contain products or wastes, including pharmaceuticals, industrial gauges, laboratory materials and low-level, high-level, and transuranic radioactive wastes.

Strict packaging requirements govern the shipment of radioactive materials. While the chances of a transportation accident are small, an accident that results in a spill could result in an expensive cleanup and/or unnecessary exposure to workers or the public. Strict requirements help ensure against radioactive material spills or releases, but transportation accidents cannot be predicted.

Injury and diseases caused by direct or indirect exposure to hazmat can be difficult to prove. Experienced railroad injury lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP can help you build a strong and persuasive case as quickly as possible.

For a free consultation, contact a railroad injury attorney at Arnold & Itkin LLP by calling toll free (866)222-2606 or by submitting the form at the top of this page.