One source of exposure among railroad workers occured in the buildings that were used to repair locomotives and rail cars.  I have heard stories from railroad workers about the flakes of white particles – some described them as snowflake like – that would fall on and around them as they worked.  What is important is that the amount of asbestos that these workers were exposed to was much greater than what they could see.  Asbestos fibers are not visible with the naked eye.

In these railroad buildings, asbestos was used as insulation in the walls, around pipes and in various other building products.

Asbestos causes mesothelioma and other cancers. The tragedy is that the danger of asbestos was known long before railroad workers were exposed to the product.  All these railroad workers wanted to do was provide for their families.