WORKERS at Newport's WaferFab factory are set to be included in an investigation into possible links between semiconductor plants and cancer deaths.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report published yesterday found that workers at an electronics factory in Scotland suffer from more cases of certain types of cancer than expected.

And the findings led to the announcement that all 25 semiconductor plants across England, Wales and Scotland will be included in the study.

Although the HSE's probe into the incidence of cancer at National Semiconductor UK in Greenock, Scotland, could not link the cases directly to the workplace, with more information needed about workers' health habits, the results of the two-year study shocked the industry.

The study followed 2,126 men and 2,262 women after workers raised concerns about high rates of cancer in factory. It found:

* 20 cases of breast cancer among women - five more cases than would have been expected;

* 11 cases of lung cancer in women - two to three times as many as expected;

* Three cases of stomach cancer in women - four or five times as many as expected;

* Four cases of brain cancer among men - about four times as many as would be expected.