PFAS compounds have been used for decades in industrial firefighting foams, coatings, and manufacturing processes at facilities where railroad workers worked. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified PFOA, one of the most studied PFAS compounds, as carcinogenic to humans in part because of the consistency and strength of its association with kidney cancer across occupational and community studies.
Claim ApplicationThe kidneys are the primary and most consistent organ in contact with PFAS because they are continually filtering PFAS from the blood. Because of their resistance to biological breakdown, PFAS build up in kidney tissue over time and are not eliminated. Several mechanisms have been identified for this build-up to be carcinogenic:
The C8 Health Project, one of the largest PFAS epidemiology studies to date, followed communities exposed to PFOA-contaminated drinking water and found increased risk of kidney cancer with increased levels of PFOA in the blood, with risk increasing proportionally with serum concentration. A meta-analysis of epidemiological studies confirmed a consistent association between PFAS exposure and kidney cancer, with stronger associations in occupational cohorts than in general population studies.
Railroad workers may have been exposed to PFAS through firefighting foam used in emergency response training, contaminated groundwater near industrial rail yards, and legacy contamination at maintenance and storage facilities where PFAS were used in equipment treatments and industrial processes.
A railroad career and a diagnosis of kidney cancer may be connected to PFAS exposure that accumulated through years of occupational contact. ELG Law has spent 35 years helping railroad workers navigate the evidentiary and legal complexities of FELA claims. Contact us today to find out whether you qualify for compensation.