HUNDREDS of workers from Brynmawr's former Dunlop Semtex factory are pursuing compensation claims for exposure to asbestos more than 20 years after the plant closed down.

And more than 100 workers have already been paid claims relating to the effects of asbestos.

Demolished four years ago, the factory, a landmark building said to have inspired the Sydney Opera House, was once a major employer in the area.

In its heyday, the factory, which made asbestos-lined floor tiles, carpet underlay and pipe lagging, employed 600 people.

One former worker looking to pursue a claim is Des Hillman, 56, from Nantyglo, who spent more than ten years as an employee until 1981.

Mr Hillman, a Blaenau Gwent county councillor, said he knew men who worked at the plant who had died from asbestosis.

He said: "I worked on the production line for 12 to 13 years and I remember there being clouds of asbestos in the factory.

"In those days, being a bit younger, we used to throw it around like snowballs because we didn't know it was dangerous.

"There was the odd occasion when people from the laboratories used to come out in their space suits to test the levels.

"You weren't aware of a risk at the time; you just got on with it. "Looking back at it now, you feel quite nasty about it.

"There are a lot of people from this area who have died from it."

Mr Hillman said he suffers from an ache in his chest and is prone to frequent chest colds.

"Apparently it could lay dormant in the body for 20 to 30 years until something triggers it off."

It is believed people making claims for compensation could receive between £6,000 and £8,000.

Nobody at the employers' insurers, Zurich, was available for comment.