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PubMedDate not supplied

Mesotheliomas following exposure to asbestos used in railroads: the Italian cases.

The available knowledge on the oncogenic risks of asbestos, the data on the uses of asbestos in railroads, with particular regard to the Italian State Railroads (Ferrovie dello Stato = FS), and the groups at risk due to the exposure to asbestos used in railroads were briefly reviewed. The available data on the pathological effects of such exposure, and in particular on the onset of mesotheliomas among machinists and other railroad workers, were also summarized. Eighty-five cases of mesothelioma (80 pleural, 4 peritoneal, and 1 pericardial), related to the exposure to asbestos used in railroads, observed in various Italian regions, were then reported. Twenty-eight of these cases (among which 27 reported in the Emilia-Romagna Region) were submitted to a detailed study at the Bologna Institute of Oncology. Fifty cases of mesothelioma occurred among FS workers, in particular machinists; 30 cases occurred among machinists of rolling-stock workshops not belonging to the FS; 3 cases occurred among travelling workers of rolling-stock not belonging to the FS; and 2 cases were found in family members (a daughter and a wife) of FS workers. This series of cases, together with similar data from the literature, proves the existence of an actually health risk due to asbestos used in railroads, and indicates its gravity. On the basis of the available data, the following steps are considered necessary: the adoption of preventive measures, the performance of medical oncological surveillance, the promotion of systematic epidemiological investigations, and, finally, more emphasis on basic research, aimed at generating information on the biological events taking place during the incubation period of the tumors, to be used for reducing the effect of exposure, and therefore for contrasting the onset of the disease in those who, having been exposed, although healthy, are potentially at high risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Discriminatory aspects of pre-employment screening: low-back X-ray examinations in the railroad industry.

In screening the majority of job applicants, most of this nation's railroads administer a low-back X-ray examination in an attempt to ascertain the likelihood that the applicant will sustain future work-related low-back pain or injury. Many applicants are rejected for employment on the basis of the X-ray findings. The railroads apparently perceive this screening program as a cost-effective means (1) of decreasing the incidence of compensation claims for work-related injuries, brought against the railroads under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), (2) of reducing the number of lost workdays resulting from low-back pain or injury, and (3) of protecting particularly susceptible workers from job-related hazards. The authors of this Article submit that low-back X-ray examinations are poor predictors of future low-back pain or injury. They assert that the railroads' use of such examinations misclassifies a substantial number of job applicants as being at increased risk for such pain or injury, and, in consequence, unfairly denies them employment. Furthermore, the authors claim, the screening program has other negative consequences. For example, applicants rejected for railroad employment on the basis of X-ray findings may as a result have difficulty finding jobs in other industries. In addition, they state, there is a potential radiation hazard to examinees. Moreover, both the railroads and those applicants accepted for employment may inappropriately be reassured by normal findings. On balance, the authors conclude, the screening program has a negative social value. The authors suggest that the program, in effect, erraneously labels many applicants as handicapped, and then denies them employment. Such persons might have legal recourse under federal and state statutes prohibiting employment discrimination against the handicapped.

Back Pain↗
PubMed1983

Mesothelioma among machinists in railroad and other industries.

The first phase of the exploration of occupation-related cancer among machinists was a retrospective review of deaths among members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in 1973, in which mesotheliomas were identified in workers in railroad and other industries. The second phase of the study initiated in 1982 was the establishment of a cohort study of machinists, employed for railroad company A, who were alive in January 1954. The cohort consisted of 197 machinists who had been employed by the same railroad prior to 1935 and observed to 1982. Causes of death were identified for 132 of the cohort. There were 18 alive and 47 not traced. Among the 29 cancer deaths, there were nine mesotheliomas and one endothelioma of the pleura. Additional retrospective surveys of deaths among members of the railroad lodges of the international union, together with the cohort study, identified a total of 42 mesotheliomas, two endotheliomas of the pleura, and two cancers of the pleura among former railroad machinists. Among the machinists employed in other industries, 16 mesotheliomas and six cancers of the pleura were identified. For decades, machinists, by the nature of their craft, have had a high risk of occupation-related cancer due to asbestos exposure.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Past exposure to asbestos among active railroad workers.

Before the transition from steam- to diesel-powered locomotives during the 1950s certain railroad workers had the opportunity for significant occupational exposure to asbestos. Past studies have demonstrated that older workers with jobs associated with the repair of steam locomotives had the most exposure. To determine the prevalence of currently employed railroad workers with past asbestos exposure we surveyed 514 white male employees of an active US railroad by mail questionnaire. Twenty-one percent (50/242) of the workers 50 years old or greater had likely asbestos exposure compared to 3% (9/275) of the workers 49 years old or less (p less than .001). Fifteen (30%) of the 50 older workers with likely asbestos exposure had current job titles no longer suggestive of past exposure. The duration of exposure of these older active workers was short, (median = 3 years; range, 6 months to 15 years). A history of past asbestos exposure may still be obtained among active railroad workers with past railroad shop employment.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Lung cancer in railroad workers exposed to diesel exhaust.

Diesel exhaust has been suspected to be a lung carcinogen. The assessment of this lung cancer risk has been limited by lack of studies of exposed workers followed for many years. In this study, we assessed lung cancer mortality in 54,973 U.S. railroad workers between 1959 and 1996 (38 years). By 1959, the U.S. railroad industry had largely converted from coal-fired to diesel-powered locomotives. We obtained work histories from the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board, and ascertained mortality using Railroad Retirement Board, Social Security, and Health Care Financing Administration records. Cause of death was obtained from the National Death Index and death certificates. There were 43,593 total deaths including 4,351 lung cancer deaths. Adjusting for a healthy worker survivor effect and age, railroad workers in jobs associated with operating trains had a relative risk of lung cancer mortality of 1.40 (95% confidence interval, 1.30-1.51). Lung cancer mortality did not increase with increasing years of work in these jobs. Lung cancer mortality was elevated in jobs associated with work on trains powered by diesel locomotives. Although a contribution from exposure to coal combustion products before 1959 cannot be excluded, these results suggest that exposure to diesel exhaust contributed to lung cancer mortality in this cohort. Key words: diesel exhaust, lung cancer, occupational exposure.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Symptoms of PTSD according to individual and work environment characteristics of Korean railroad drivers with experience of person-under-train accidents.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to collect basic data on the prevalence pattern of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Korean railroad drivers exposed to person-under-train accidents according to the individual and working environmental characteristics. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent to all the railroad drivers accompanying active service now by company post. A total of 639 of the 800 questionnaires sent out were returned, showing a response rate of 79.9%. The Impact of Event Scale was utilized to address psychological status of railroad drivers after exposure to person-under-train accident. RESULTS: Score of PTSD, intrusion, and avoidance ranged from 9.6 to 13.2, from 4.2 to 6.1, and from 5.4 to 7.2 according to individual characteristics and ranged from 11.44 to 12.70, from 5.03 to 5.67, and from 6.41 to 7.04 according to working environmental characteristics, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that Korean railroad drivers who experienced person-under-train accident expressed adverse symptoms physically and psychologically more than those who did not experience it. Apart from effect of train driver's age, a wide range of individual and working environmental factors appear to have no association with the level of posttraumatic distress following a person-under-train accident.

Accidents↗
PubMed1989

Current nitrogen dioxide exposures among railroad workers.

As part of a series of epidemiologic studies of the mortality patterns of railroad workers, various air contaminants were measured to characterize the workers' current exposures to diesel exhaust. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is a constituent of diesel exhaust, was examined as one possible marker of diesel exposure. An adaptation of the Palmes personal passive sampler was used to measure the NO2 exposures of 477 U.S. railroad workers at four railroads. The range of NO2 exposures expressed as the arithmetic average +/- two standard errors for the five career job groups were as follows: signal maintainers, 16-24 parts per billion (ppb); clerks/dispatchers/station agents, 23-43 ppb; engineers/firers, 26-38 ppb; brakers/conductors, 50-74 ppb; and locomotive shop workers, 95-127 ppb. Variations among railroads and across seasons were not significant for most job groups.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed1996

The rise and fall of Erichsen's disease (railroad spine).

The railroad represented one of the major technologic achievements of the 19th century. Sadly, railroad collisions, which resulted in major injuries and loss of life, began to tarnish the image of this popular mode of transportation. Public alarm about rail travel intensified in 1866, when noted British surgeon John Eric Erichsen described a peculiar progressive spinal disorder, similar to spinal concussion, that was a sequela to railroad accident or injury. The history of this disorder, which came to be known as "railroad spine" or "Erichsen's disease", represents a little known yet important chapter in the evolution of the modern comprehension of functional illness that can complicate or even replace an initial substrate of organic disease.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1991

Hearing loss from gun and railroad noise--relations with ISO standard 1999.

Pure-tone hearing thresholds and anamnestic data pertaining to nosocusis and exposure to gun noise were analyzed for 9778 male railroad train-crew workers. A major portion of losses in hearing sensitivity due to railroad noise are obscured in comparisons of hearing levels of trainmen with the hearing levels of the unscreened samples of United States males given in Annex B, ISO 1999 [ISO 1999 (1990), "Acoustics--Determination of occupational noise exposure and estimation of noise-induced hearing impairment" (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva)]. Comparisons of the hearing levels, adjusted for nosocusis, of trainmen who had used no guns, with the hearing levels of otologically and noise screened males (Annex A, ISO 1999) reveal significant losses due to railroad noise. Additional losses were found at high frequencies in trainmen who had used guns. It appears that the effective Leq8h exposure level of trainmen to railroad noise is about 92 dBA, and 87-89 dBA to gun noise. These results are in general agreement with those of study of railway workers by Prosser et al. [Br. J. Audiol. 22, 85-91 (1988)]. Asymmetries in losses between the two ears, effects of ear protection, losses from nosocusis, and losses from sport, as compared to military, gun noise exposures, are examined.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Train wrecks to typhoid fever: the development of railroad medicine organizations, 1850-World War I.

From their beginning American railroads developed medical arrangements to care for the large number of workers and passengers they killed or injured. After the Civil War, both labor unrest and liability concerns led them to expand and formalize these arrangements, and three forms of organization arose. Western roads, facing an almost complete lack of medical facilities, developed employee-funded hospital organizations. In the east, companies created medical organizations under a salaried chief surgeon and contracted with local physicians to provide care. A third model, pioneered by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the 1880s, devised a beneficial society that provided medical care and compensation for injured workers. Although these organizations involved both contract practice and group hospitalization, the AMA seems to have ignored them. In the 1880s railroad physicians developed their own organizations, including the National Association of Railway Surgeons, in which they discussed problems of professionalization and such medical matters as "railway spine." Concern with costs and labor turnover also led the carriers into preventive medicine. Some roads provided smallpox and typhoid vaccinations, campaigned against malaria, improved passenger-car sanitation, required physical examinations of their employees, and trained them in first aid. By World War I, railroad medical organizations provided care to nearly two million employees and employment to about 10 percent of all physicians.

Accidents↗
PubMed1985

Urolithiasis in railroad shopmen in relation to oxalic acid exposure at work.

It is well known that the urinary excretion of oxalic acid is one of the main determinants for urinary stone formation. From 1950 to 1978 a saturated oxalic acid solution was used in a repainting and cleaning process for railroad cars in Norwegian railroad workshops. With the use of a questionnaire, the cumulative prevalence of urolithiasis-induced colic episodes was registered in the Sundland railroad depot. Forty-two (11.9%) out of 353 male workers not exposed to oxalic acid reported having had one or more such stone colic episodes. The corresponding figure for 15 individuals who had a very high exposure to oxalic acid was 8 (53.3%). Also workers in other departments, occasionally exposed to oxalic acid, had an increased stone colic prevalence rate, a finding suggesting a positive dose-response relationship. There was an increased frequency of stone colic episodes in the age group 40-69 years. Seven heavily exposed workers in the paint shop reported initial pollakiuria and slight dysuria during the exposure. The study indicates a causal relation between urinary stone formation in the investigated railroad shopmen and their exposure to oxalic acid at work.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

PTSD in railroad drivers under the Federal employers' liability act.

Railroad and subway drivers can experience psychological trauma when trains strike or nearly miss other trains, motor vehicles, or persons or become instruments of death. Derailments, collisions, and suicides on the tracks can induce feelings of helplessness, horror, guilt, and anxiety in the drivers. Although some drivers experience acute stress disorder (ASD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), their conditions are not always acknowledged within the occupational setting. The world literature suggests that PTSD has been an increasing focus of concern, giving rise to detailed intervention protocols. In the United States, the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA) governs the adjudication of work-related injuries among railroad employees. In practice, it is difficult for railroad drivers with PTSD to receive benefits if there was no "direct impact" linked to the employer's negligence. In this article, the authors review the literature on PTSD among railroad drivers, discuss relevant case law, and explain how the FELA militates against some employees with PTSD.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed2006

Smoking imputation and lung cancer in railroad workers exposed to diesel exhaust.

BACKGROUND: An association between diesel exhaust exposure and lung cancer mortality in a large retrospective cohort study of US railroad workers has previously been reported. However, specific information regarding cigarette smoking was unavailable. METHODS: Birth cohort, age, job, and cause of death specific smoking histories from a companion case-control study were used to impute smoking behavior for 39,388 railroad workers who died 1959-1996. Mortality analyses incorporated the effect of smoking on lung cancer risk. RESULTS: The smoking adjusted relative risk of lung cancer in railroad workers exposed to diesel exhaust compared to unexposed workers was 1.22 (95% CI = 1.12-1.32), and unadjusted for smoking the relative risk was 1.35 (95% CI = 1.24-1.46). CONCLUSIONS: These analyses illustrate the use of imputation in record-based occupational health studies to assess potential confounding due to smoking. In this cohort, small differences in smoking behavior between diesel exposed and unexposed workers did not explain the elevated lung cancer risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Estimation of the diesel exhaust exposures of railroad workers: I. Current exposures.

As a part of a series of epidemiological studies of railroad workers, measurements were made to characterize workers' exposures to diesel exhaust. Since diesel exhaust is not a single compound, an exposure marker was sought. The personal exposures to respirable particulate matter (RPM) of over 530 workers in 39 common jobs were measured in four U.S. railroads over a three-year period. Significant amounts of cigarette smoke (20-90%) were found in many of these samples. Therefore, the respirable particulate concentration, adjusted to remove the fraction of cigarette smoke (ARP), was chosen as a marker of diesel exhaust exposures. The geometric mean exposures to ARP ranged from 17 micrograms/m3 for clerks to 134 micrograms/m3 for locomotive shop workers. Significant interrailroad variations were observed in some job groups indicating that the different facilities, equipment, and work practices found among the railroads can affect a worker's exposure to diesel exhaust. Climate was also found to have a significant effect on exposure in some job groups.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2005

A psbA mutation in Kochia scoparia (L) Schrad from railroad rights-of-way with resistance to diuron, tebuthiuron and metribuzin.

Kochia [Kochia scoparia (L) Schrad] has become resistant to many herbicides used in cropland and railroad rights-of-way in North Dakota and Minnesota. Kochia scoparia plants that had survived annual treatments with diuron and tebuthiuron were sampled along railroad rights-of-way in North Dakota and Minnesota. The samples were screened in the greenhouse for resistance to diuron, tebuthiuron, metribuzin and bromoxynil from 0.5x to 32x the recommended use rates. A resistant K scoparia accession (MN-3R) was confirmed with resistance up to 16-fold higher than recommended use rates for tebuthiuron and diuron and up to 4-fold higher for metribuzin. However, the resistant K scoparia accession was susceptible to bromoxynil even at 50% of the recommended use rate. The herbicide binding region of the psbA gene fragment of eight resistant (R) and seven susceptible (S) K scoparia accessions was PCR-amplified and sequenced for detection of mutations. The psbA gene of four R K scoparia accessions was mutated at residue 219 with substitution of isoleucine for valine (GenBank accession number AY251265). The seven S K scoparia accession sequences were wild-type at this residue (GenBank accession number AY251266). The other four R accessions sequences showed a previously known triazine R mutation with substitution of glycine for serine at residue 264. All 15 K scoparia accessions were wild-type at all other psbA residues within the region analyzed. Resistance to diuron, tebuthiuron and metribuzin among the railroad rights-of-way K scoparia is probably due to the mutation at residue 219 of the psbA gene in some plants, but due to the previously reported Ser(264)Gly substitution in other plants. Target-site resistance associated with a change of valine to isoleucine at residue 219 of the psbA target-site in weeds has previously been reported for Poa annua L selected in diuron-treated grass seed fields, and for Amaranthus powelli S Wats selected in linuron-treated carrot fields. This is the first report of the mutation in herbicide-resistant K scoparia.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Railroad accidents: a metropolitan experience of death and injury.

A review of all railroad-related deaths and significant injuries that occurred in a medium-sized metropolitan area from January 1, 1979, to June 30, 1986, was conducted. Autopsy reports were obtained for each fatality, and pre-hospital data were retrieved for all railroad-related injuries resulting in emergency medical services dispatch. There were ten fatalities (24%) and 31 survivors. The average age was 31.2 years (range, 1 to 67). Thirty-seven (90%) were men. Eleven persons (27%) were intoxicated (average blood alcohol of 279 mg/dL; range, 140 to 460). Of the 30 survivors transported, hospital records were available for 24. Thirteen were hospitalized and ten underwent surgery. Six major amputations occurred among survivors. Six patients had an Injury Severity Score of more than 15. Three mechanisms of injury occurred: falls on or from a train (56%); pedestrians hit by a train (41%), which accounted for all fatalities; and a train-automobile accident. This is the first comprehensive review of all significant railroad-related injuries in a metropolitan area.

Accidents↗
PubMed2000

Work/rest cycles in railroad operations: effects of shorter than 24-h shift work schedules and on-call schedules on sleep.

The current study examined the frequency with which shorter than 24-h work/rest cycles occur in locomotive engineer work schedules, and what effects these work/rest cycles had on sleep quantity and sleep quality. The results indicated that shorter than 24-h work/rest cycles occurred in 33.6% of the work days reported by 198 locomotive engineers. In addition, the shorter than 24-h work/rest cycles occurred more frequently in work schedules that created an on-call work system, such as road pool turn and extra board assignments, than in work schedules that used more predictable or regular work times, such as regular road assignments and yard/local work. As would be expected, when engineers worked shorter than 24-h work/rest cycles, they reported less sleep and poorer sleep than under the longer than 24-h work/rest cycles. Similarly, on-call work assignments resulted in less sleep and poorer sleep than regular work assignments. These results indicate that specific aspects of the work schedules used in railroad operations, particularly on-call operations that result in shorter than 24-h work/rest cycles, can lead to increased sleep-related problems. Although the North American railroad industry is making significant changes in on-call operations to minimize sleep-related problems from on-call schedules, better fatigue-related models validated within the railroad industry are needed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Diesel exhaust exposure in the Canadian railroad work environment.

An investigation of occupational exposure to diesel exhaust, in terms of elemental carbon, was conducted as part of a feasibility study in the Canadian railroad industry. Both personal and area samples were collected from three major operating divisions of the railways: mechanical service, transportation, and engineering. A total of 255 elemental carbon samples have been described. The results show that all but six elemental carbon concentrations, expressed as size-selective respirable air samples taken using a 10 mm nylon cyclone, are well below the 2001 proposed American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV) of 20 microg/m3. The concentration of diesel exhaust, expressed as elemental carbon, in the railroad industry is much lower than that in some other major industries such as mining and forklift truck operations. If the TLV is to be applicable to a broad range of workplace settings such as railroad, construction, and mining, the use of a TLV that is based on an elemental carbon measurement of size selective respirable samples, as recommended in the 2001 ACGIH proposal, would appear to be the most valid strategy for control of exposure to diesel exhaust.

Canada↗