Can asbestos be found in and around railroads?

Question

I was interested in purchasing a property where the railroad was litterally outside my yard or in this case the terrace.

Its such a sweet deal but as with anything in life, there is always a price to pay. In this case, I fear it would be my health. The fact that asbestos was a common material for just about everything, it concerns me to purchase property so close to the railroad. At first, I didn't think I could get used to the noise, but a major power line plus railroad tracks which would face the center of the apt freaks me out b/c of the possibility of developing a serious disease.

In the city any pce of land is prime but at what costs. Its sad that developers do not disclose this information to you and you only have the opportunity to do an inspection when you're in contract.

After 9/11, a rep from DEP or was it the EPA stated the air quality was safe. Unfortunately, she developed serious lung conditions and admitted years later the air quality really wasn't safe.

Answer 1

I wouldn't be worried about asbestos being near railroad lines, it would be both diesel fumes/particulates and the creosote the railroad ties are soaked in.

Diesel particulate and fumes are known respitory hazards. Creosote is used on both telephone poles and railroad ties to keep them safe from water damage, but creosote is a mix of organic compounds that are hazardous.

Everything has it's potential health hazards, you have to learn to be smart about them. For instance, do you smoke? That is much worse for you than any of these things that we've been discussing.

Good luck!

Answer 2

While I can't give you specific information about how to proceed in dealing with the people involved. I would like to counter some of the other statements made here. There is a category called blue asbestos. In north america the most common to fin in a house are the "white" asbestos forms which also happen to be the easiest to control. And asbestos was used in homes for all sorts of applications, both to improve the fire rating of materials and to improve strength. (backing in linoleum, prevent cracking in drywall mud. etc.) It is not toxic and only harmfull if inhaled. So long as it is not disturbed you are safe there. however it sounded like they didn't clean up or put in any environmental controls. Almost every asbestos abatement that I have done required sealing off the area with a 6mm vapor barrier and using an air scrubber to provide a constant negative pressure on the area. Also we always had to provide notification to the government a few days before starting work. I don't know what the rules are there but it does sound like they skipped some steps. Get some duck tape and vapor barrier and either seal off the room (including vents) or seal of the area they opened up. be liberal with the tape. Good luck in getting some action on this. maybe try looking up an IAQ they might be able to give you some advice on how to proceed.

Answer 3

At one time about 50 years ago, there was indeed asbestos used in the steam locomotives to insulate the boiler and the steam feed lines. Diesel locomotives did the steam locomotives in though. Heck more resently than that asbestos was used in building construction so you may be overly concerned about railroad property. If your current abode was build prior to about 1965, it may have asbestos in it.

Answer 4

Adsbestos is ussually only an issue when it is airborn and gets inhaled. Your concerns would be any piping insulation, old cedar like shingles, smal 9 x9" tiles, stuff like that in older houses that used to be made from asbestos. The train isnt an issue.