Why Mesothelioma Cases Occur in Chicago
Chicago's industrial identity was forged by railroads, steel, construction, and heavy manufacturing — four industries where asbestos was used extensively for decades. As the nation's undisputed railroad capital, Chicago was home to the largest concentration of rail yards, locomotive shops, and freight terminals in the United States. The city's South Side became one of America's great steelmaking corridors, and a construction boom that reshaped the skyline relied heavily on asbestos-containing building materials. Across all of these industries, workers inhaled microscopic asbestos fibers daily, often without protective equipment or any warning about the dangers.
According to WikiMesothelioma.com, Chicago ranks among the most significant cities in the country for occupational asbestos exposure, with railroad operations, construction trades, steel production, and power generation all contributing to a decades-long pattern of worker exposure. The sheer scale of Chicago's industrial economy — employing hundreds of thousands of tradespeople across the 20th century — means the city's asbestos legacy continues to produce new mesothelioma diagnoses well into the present day.
The peak period of asbestos use in Chicago's industrial sector spanned from the 1940s through the early 1980s. During World War II, Chicago's railroad network operated at maximum capacity to support the war effort, and the city's steel mills ran around the clock producing materials for military equipment. In the postwar decades, a massive construction boom erected skyscrapers, public housing, and infrastructure projects that used asbestos in fireproofing, insulation, floor tiles, and cement products. Throughout this era, asbestos was considered an indispensable industrial material — and the workers who handled it paid the price.
The 20-to-50-Year Latency Period
Mesothelioma does not appear immediately after asbestos exposure. The disease has a latency period of 20 to 50 years, meaning workers exposed in Chicago's rail yards, steel mills, and construction sites during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s are being diagnosed now. A railroad mechanic who repaired asbestos-insulated locomotives at Union Station in 1968 may only receive a mesothelioma diagnosis in 2026 or later. This long latency period is why Chicago continues to produce new mesothelioma cases decades after asbestos use was curtailed.
The concentration of industrial exposure in Chicago also means that many workers were exposed at multiple job sites over the course of a career. A construction electrician might have worked on ten or more building projects over 25 years, each one involving asbestos-containing materials. A steelworker could have spent time at both US Steel South Works and Wisconsin Steel before transitioning to construction or power plant maintenance. This multi-site exposure history is important for legal claims because it can connect a patient to multiple asbestos trust funds and multiple defendants, increasing the total compensation available.
Chicago's Asbestos Legacy by the Numbers
At its peak, Chicago was served by more than 20 major railroad lines, with Union Station alone handling over 300 trains per day. The South Side steel district employed tens of thousands of workers in mills where asbestos insulation lined furnaces, ladles, and piping systems. Illinois consistently ranks among the top states for mesothelioma deaths, and Chicago's railroad, construction, and industrial infrastructure is a primary driver. If you worked at any railroad facility, construction site, steel mill, or power plant in the Chicago area, documenting your asbestos exposure history is a critical first step.
