Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in railroad workers

Benzene and certain weed killers and insect killers may raise the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to the American Cancer Society. The Society also points out that scientists are still studying these connections.

Herbicides are chemicals used to kill weeds. Railroads have relied on them for a long time to keep tracks and rights of way free of growth.

A panel of 17 experts from 11 countries was convened in March 2015 by IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer. After reviewing roughly 1,000 studies, they labeled glyphosate as probably able to cause cancer in humans. That means the evidence was strong enough to raise real concern, but not strong enough to call it proven in people.

Studies from different regions and time periods led the panel to connect glyphosate with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Some of the research focused on people exposed at work, like farmers. For most people, exposure comes through commercial products that include other ingredients too.

A large US study covering over 50,000 farmers and pesticide applicators found no link to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. IARC responded that the study had not followed its subjects long enough.

One older study tracked 348 Swedish railroad workers through October 1978. Tumor deaths among them were higher than expected. The increase was largest for workers exposed to amitrol together with phenoxy acid herbicides. The authors could not say which chemical caused the tumors, but they urged careful handling of amitrol and phenoxy acids, which they saw as increasingly suspect.

A former track foreman filed suit against the Long Island Railroad Company on January 15, 2026, in New York federal court under FELA. He says glyphosate and diesel fumes were part of his exposure. He also says the railroad never trained him about the chemicals, failed to provide protective equipment and safety procedures, and that ventilation and supervision were inadequate.

His cancer is in remission, but his doctors put the odds of it returning at 83%. He is asking for over $200,000.

Workplace chemicals are not the only factors linked to lymphoma risk. The American Cancer Society lists these other risk factors:

• Getting older, since most cases appear in people in their 60s or beyond
• Male sex
• Having a parent, child, or sibling who has had this disease
• An immune system that is weakened, including by HIV
• Radiation therapy or chemotherapy in the past for a different cancer
• Radiation exposure from atomic bombs or nuclear accidents

State workers' compensation does not cover railroad workers. They instead seek compensation under FELA, short for the Federal Employers' Liability Act. Negligence simply means the railroad failed to act with reasonable care. FELA says a railroad is responsible when its negligence contributed to the harm, whether fully or only partly.

The Supreme Court decided long ago that FELA applies to job-related illnesses, not just accidents. The railroad's negligence only has to play some part, however small. Even a worker who shared some of the blame can recover, though the award is reduced in proportion to the worker's share of fault.

Damages may cover medical bills, wages lost in the past and in the future, and pain and suffering. When a worker has died, the personal representative acting for the surviving spouse and children holds the claim.

Any FELA case has to be filed within three years, and it can go to either federal or state court. For a disease that develops slowly, the Supreme Court has said the three years start when the illness shows itself, not when you were exposed. That clock may already be running, so it helps to have your situation looked at soon.

Missing the filing window can end a claim. In an unpublished January 2026 decision, a New Jersey appeals court held that a car inspector's claims for bladder cancer as it existed in 2014 were barred by the three-year deadline. His doctor had linked the cancer to his work back in May 2014, yet he waited until April 2019 to file.