Location of The Phurnacite Plant - Abercwmboi

United Kingdom / Wales / Cwmbach /
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Coordinates:   51°41'28"N   3°24'22"W

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  • A foul, foul factory which provided London with smokeless fuel, and the whole valley with the smoke. Established in the 40s, it avoided all anti-pollution regulation because it was by the time of the legislation an "established nuisance". Four huge chimneys belched steam laden with tons of fine grit into the air. this was caused when the ovoids were doused with water to cool them. As they cooled very rapidly, the ovoids (egg-shaped compressions of coal fragments) shed small particles which were then bestowed upon the local population and environment. The whole factory building oozed sulphurous fumes from every pore. Worse, the valley has an inversion layer, which means that air in the valley becomes trapped at a certain level, and just stays there. Why did we put up with it? The deferential society? Perhaps. But there was no prospect of ever getting anywhere - and I have stood on picket lines - because no-one who could have done something cared a damn. Finally, the factory was blown up - O Happy Day! - leaving a toxic site as a legacy. How could you identify a car from Mountain Ash in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s? Simple. The paintwork featured a miriad of black specks which could not be removed. Phurnacite fall-out welded itself into the paintwork. And I will not dwell on the filth on the buildings, roads, in the houses, on the washing, on the babies in the prams... How could they do it to us? How could we tolerate it? But then, look what they did to Aberfan, and then to the Aberfan Disaster fund. A different world, but not that long ago.
  • Hi All, I have been reading about the plans to develop the old phurnacite plant and it has got me thinking. Our house was the first house on Bronalt Terrace as you come into Abercwmboi from Moutain Ash. It's no longer standing, however being located close to the entrance of the plant it was probably one of the closest standing houses in Abercwmboi, you could see the chimneys from our garden and no matter how hard my grandfather tried to grow his tomatoes he was never successful. I lived there until I was 3 with my grandparents and mother and they had lived there from the 1930s. I was born in 1967 and I have clear memories of not being able to play outside for long before I was covered in dust and one of my favorite games was to sweep the dust off the pavements with a toy brush. It makes me shiver now when I think about the toxic debris I was playing in. My grandmother died first of lung cancer in 1970 and then my grandfather also of lung cancer in 1973 and then my mother of breast cancer in 1980 which in effect left me alone in this world at the age of 13. Clearly I am much older now, but filled with sadness when I think about the legacy of this 'foul, foul factory' which churned out death not only to the poor sods who worked there, but the surrounding community. I live in a leafy area of southern England, I could not imagine the stench of the phurnacite plant ever being allowed here. And why was it allowed in Abercwmboi? Because the people were poor and voiceless and any job to feed your family was better than no job. I want an apology because I hold the NCB and the government responsible for the deaths of my family and the loss and pain I endured as a child, but this won't happen as I wouldn't even know where to start? I would be interested to know how many other families suffered in this way!
  • Would like to speak to you about conditions you speak of purely for personal reasons. Is there any way of contacting you 'Veteran'?
  • Hi Veteran, Could you tell me more about the valley's inversion layer? where can I find more info on these please? Thanks.
This article was last modified 17 years ago