A GRIEVING family has appealed for help to find out how a Barry man was exposed to fatal quantities of asbestos.

Gerald Taylor died aged 76 after a long battle with lung disease, linked, he and his family believe, to contact with the deadly substance.

The father-of-two, and grandfather of four, said he had worked in "in a haze of asbestos all the time" while employed as an electrical maintenance contractor in Aberthaw B Power Station between 1967 and 1979.

Family members have made a plea for anyone who worked with him, or in the power station at the time, to come forward with any information that might be important as they pursue legal action.

Wife Carole, 73, of Norwood Crescent, Barry, described her heartbreak at losing her husband last year, just five days before what would have been their 50th wedding anniversary.

"I adored Gerald," she said. "I couldn't have wished for a better husband. He was a fantastic father and the grandchildren adored him too."

Daughter Cammelia Hooper, 45, said: “My dad’s condition really deteriorated towards the end. It made him very weak.

“My mum remembers him coming home from the power station covered in dust - it was a dirty and unpleasant environment for him.

“We now want to find out exactly where and how my dad came into contact with this dreadful asbestos.”

In a statement made before his death, Mr Taylor alleged how "virtually every day" he worked with insulators who were mixing loose asbestos with water all around him.

He said at the time: "They poured the loose asbestos from bags into drums filled with water which created an enormous amount of asbestos fibres being released into the air.

“As a result I was working in a haze of asbestos all of the time. As soon as we had put in the trays which carried the cables, a white layer of asbestos settled on them.

“At no stage was I ever provided with specific clothing or equipment that would have provided suitable protection from the dust which I would have inhaled on a regular basis.”

The family’s lawyer, Alison Kerr of Slater and Gordon, said: “Mr Taylor’s life was cut short because of his contact with asbestos.

“Despite the risks of asbestos having been known for decades, he was still sent to work in dangerous conditions. Now his family want to make those who exposed him to those conditions accountable.

“It is important for us to hear from former colleagues and staff who could shed some more light on the working conditions within Aberthaw B Power Station near Cardiff during the 1960s and 70s.”

A spokeswoman for Aberthaw Power Station commented that no legal action is being sought against the station or current owners RWE energy. Solicitors Slater and Gordon confirmed that legal action is being sought against several contractors.

Anyone with information should contact Alison Kerr on 020 7657 1661 or email Alison.Kerr@slatergordon.co.uk