Why Laredo Workers and Families Are at Risk for Asbestos-Related Disease

Laredo's role as one of the busiest land ports on the US-Mexico border has driven a century of transportation, rail, and industrial activity along the Rio Grande. The Texas Mexican Railway, one of the oldest rail lines in Texas, operated out of Laredo and created a sustained employment base for railroad workers who maintained steam locomotives, diesel engines, and the associated rail infrastructure using asbestos-insulated components including boiler lagging, pipe insulation, brake components, gaskets, and valve packing. Railroad work is among the more consistently documented asbestos-exposure trades in occupational health records, because steam-era rail equipment relied on asbestos throughout its mechanical systems, and those components remained in service well into the 1970s.

Oil and gas pipeline construction and maintenance through the Webb County and South Texas corridor also brought asbestos exposure to Laredo-area workers. Pipeline workers who applied joint compounds, wrapped insulated lines, and maintained compressor stations encountered asbestos in pipe-wrap systems, thermal insulation on above-ground lines, and gaskets throughout compressor and valve assemblies. Commercial and light industrial construction in Laredo's growing border economy during the mid-20th century exposed carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and sheet metal workers to asbestos-containing ceiling tile, floor tile, insulation board, joint compound, and roofing materials that were standard in American commercial construction through the 1970s.

Many Laredo residents who worked outside the city, in Gulf Coast refineries, South Texas oil fields, or elsewhere, returned home carrying an asbestos-exposure history that built over time and may have begun well before their Laredo years. Mesothelioma's long latency period, often 20 to 50 years between exposure and diagnosis, means that workers who left industrial employment decades ago may only now be receiving a diagnosis. If you or a family member lived or worked in Laredo and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related disease, a free case review with Danziger & De Llano will help establish the full exposure history and determine eligibility.