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Did you work with EMD locomotive electrical cabinet asbestos arc chute barriers, load contactor insulation, and control panel millboard? According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, it allegedly contained asbestos. Here is what it was, who was exposed, and who is responsible. EMD locomotive electrical cabinet asbestos arc chute barriers, load contactor insulation, and control panel millboard, made by Electro Motive Division, sold from the 1940s until the 1980s. Plaintiffs allegedly identified EMD (Electro-Motive Division) locomotive electrical cabinet asbestos arc chute barriers and load contactor insulation as an asbestos exposure source in cab electrical maintenance work. Asbestos-millboard and asbestos-cement arc chute barriers, contactor arc shields, and reversing/transition contactor insulation allegedly used inside EMD locomotive electrical cabinets from GP/SD-series first-generation road units through Dash-2 units. Electricians allegedly changed contactors, replaced arc chutes, and cleaned carbon-fouled cabinet interiors, allegedly disturbing asbestos-containing barriers. Workers allegedly exposed around this product included Railroad Electricians, Railroad Machinists, Railroad Shop Laborers, and Railroad Locomotive Engineers and Firemen. Asbestos claims are brought against the companies that made the products. If you worked with or around EMD locomotive electrical cabinet asbestos arc chute barriers, load contactor insulation, and control panel millboard and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have a legal claim against the manufacturer. This is educational information from an independent publisher — not a law firm — and is not legal advice.
Product Description
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that EMD (Electro-Motive Division of General Motors) locomotive electrical cabinets — mounted in the short hood, long hood, or nose of GP-series, SD-series, F-unit, and E-unit road locomotives, and their Dash-2 successors — allegedly incorporated asbestos-millboard and asbestos-cement arc chute barriers, arc-shield inserts on high-current load contactors, and asbestos-based insulation on reversing and transition contactors.
According to publicly filed asbestos litigation records, high-current DC contactors in EMD cabinets allegedly generated significant arcing during transition and load changes, coating arc chute interiors in carbon and eroding the asbestos-containing barrier material. Railroad electricians allegedly replaced arc chutes, changed reversers and load contactors, and cleaned carbon-fouled cabinet interiors with compressed air, brushes, and rags — allegedly disturbing and aerosolizing asbestos fiber from the barrier material in the process.
Workers Exposed
- Railroad electricians replacing contactors, arc chutes, and reverser assemblies inside EMD locomotive electrical cabinets
- Railroad machinists performing adjacent power-plant work on locomotives with cabinets opened for electrical service
- Railroad shop laborers cleaning cabinet interiors and disposing of used arc chute components
- Railroad locomotive engineers and firemen exposed to residual dust when operating recently-shopped units
- Railroad car maintainers working alongside electricians in shared roundhouse space