Railroad Risk Factors: Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Cancer Talk

For the millions of railroad workers who labored tirelessly on the job, exposure to a wide range of substances has been consistently linked to increased risks of developing cancer later in life. Unbeknownst to many of these workers are the severe risks of exposure to asbestos, silica dust, diesel exhaust, welding fumes, and solvents that are used on a consistent basis on rail lines. Research has shown that there is no safe exposure threshold for these and the many other substances railroad workers may have been exposed to. Effects can take years to materialize and can be a result of both significant exposure over the short-term or moderate exposure over the long-term.

Here in Buffalo, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, located in the heart of the city’s up-and-coming medical district, is on the leading edge of research in the field of occupational health hazards and the development of certain cancers such as lung, kidney throat, bladder, and certain blood cancers such as leukemia. Roswell Park has recently introduced its Lung Cancer Screening Program for those who are at a high risk for developing lung cancer. Similar lung cancer screening programs are available at cancer centers around the country. Exposure to asbestos, silica dust, diesel exhaust, welding fumes, and solvents all put railroad workers at an extremely high risk for the development of lung cancer.