For the first time a connection is being made between work in the carpet industry at Kosset at Brookfoot and fatal mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lungs usually related to asbestos.
The disease can take decades to develop and it is not known how many people who are suffering symptoms have failed to make the link with their work in the carpet industry.
One firm of solicitors, John Pickering and Partners, which specialises in fighting for victims of industrial disease, is now keen to hear from people who worked at the Brookfoot factory, a former textile mill, between 1960 and 1980.
Solicitor Mr Satpal Singh has been acting in four cases, two connected with the Kosset factory in Brighouse and two with Associated Weavers in Bradford, where mesothelioma is suspected.
He said: "We have acted for people who worked for Cape Asbestos in Hebden Bridge for many years but for the first time we are being asked to help in cases of workers who were employed in the carpet industry and this has taken us by surprise."
Mr Singh said it was not definitely known how the Kosset workers had come into contact with asbestos but it was likely that the lethal material was still being used around the factory after the dangers were established in the 1970s.
A support group which acts for victims of asbestosis and mesothelioma is now offering lung function tests to former carpet workers.
Carol Duerden, a spokesperson for Bradford Asbestos Victims Support Group, said a number of deaths among former carpet workers had come to the group's attention in recent years. The group mainly represents people who worked at the former Associated Weavers factory in Bradford.
She said: "We really don't know how many people may be suffering symptoms. The problem is really only just coming to light and we are keen to collect as much data as possible. A number of deaths have been brought to our attention over the past couple of years but we are still in the early stages of trying to gather as much information as possible. It is possible that some cases in the past may have been missed or put down to other conditions."
The group was set up five years ago and is seeking financial help from councils, unions and other organisations to help workers with asbestosis fight for compensation.
When Kosset moved into the former biscuit factory at Brookfoot in 1956, it was the first plant of its kind in the country. More than 130 people, most of them from Brighouse, were taken on initially but, as the firm expanded, more than 1,000 people were employed to meet the increasing demand for the high quality carpets produced.
But by the mid-1980s, with the carpet industry in steep decline, parent company Carpets International made redundancies and sold the Brookfoot premises to the John Crowther group. The final axe fell on the factory in the mid-1980s.
For more information on lung function tests contact Carol Duerden on 01274 393949. Former Kosset Carpets workers between 1960 and 1980 are asked to contact Alison Hart at John Pickering and partners on 0808 1440959.