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Monday 25 May

It's nearly 20 years since the sprawling Phurnacite plant at Abercwmboi in the Cynon Valley closed. At its height it employed 1200 men producing smokeless fuel briquettes.

Now lawyers for around 300 of those who worked there, and their families, are preparing to go to court to argue that exposure to the dangerous chemicals used in the plant has left a legacy of cancer and respiratory disease.

Colin Davies worked at Phurnacite for 14 years. In 2006 he died from a rare type of cancer at the age of 53.

At his inquest, the coroner recorded an open verdict, saying he could not rule out a link between the cancer and Colin's time at Phurnacite.

His daughters, Serene and Sapphire, are now part of the legal action and determined to hold someone accountable. They say their father was convinced that working conditions at the plant contributed to his cancer.

"I'm hoping that somebody will stand up and take responsibility for exactly what they've done," Sapphire Davies tells Eye on Wales. "They've destroyed lives, families afterwards."

Those going to court are seeking compensation from the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which has taken on liability for the affairs of the former British Coal and its subsidiaries, including Phurnacite.

Their case is based on the claim that as a result of their employment the Phurnacite workers were exposed to a major risk of injury through the inhalation of dust and fumes without being provided with any protection.

The court case is being assembled by Hugh James Solicitors. Kathryn Singh is part of the legal team.

"If protection was provided it was too late of wholly inadequate," she says. "We're arguing that the employer failed in their duty to protect these men."

Last week, the compensation case suffered a setback.

The Department for Energy announced it would oppose a Group Litigation Order which would allow all the cases to go forward together as with previously successful miners' compensation claims.

Now a judge will decide at a hearing in July whether the group order can go ahead.

For the Phurnacite men, their widows and families, the long wait continues.