Railways
The excellent fireproofing and insulating properties of asbestos made it extremely useful on railway rolling stock and infrastructure. Large amounts of asbestos insulation products, both sprayed and non-sprayed, were used on steam locomotives; maintenance crews and railway personnel experienced hazardous exposures to asbestos on a daily basis [See: Asbestos and railways]. While the introduction of diesel trains and the use of asbestos-free railroad brake shoes decreased these exposures, the legacy of the dangerous exposures is high rates of disease amongst workers such as UK boilermakers. [We Will Never Go Away], and railway workers in Japan [Legal Victory for Railway Workers in Japan].
The widespread contamination of railway rolling stock continues to pose a risk to workers in the transport industry [Asbestos A Never Ending Story] and those people responsible for decontaminating old railway stock [Don't Know, Don't Care and IBAS Report AAC 2009 print page 34].
Asbestos removal at stations can also liberate fibers unless the work is conducted under carefully supervised and rigorous conditions [IBAS Report AAC 2009 print page 25].
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Updated February 2010.
