A retired Forestry Commission worker with terminal cancer believes a form of weedkiller he used for more than two decades may have led to his illness.
Raymond Charles, who started using herbicides in the 1980s, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma 18 months ago. Doctors have told him it cannot be cured.
After hearing about a legal case in the USA, in which the weedkiller RoundUp - which contains glyphosate - was found to have contributed "substantially" to the terminal illness of a groundskeeper, the 73-year-old felt his cancer could have been caused by the same substance.
"The future is very uncertain for me, and my family are very concerned for my welfare," said Mr Charles, whose day-to-day tasks at the Forestry Commission included planting, felling trees and weeding.
"I would advise anyone regularly using weedkillers to be extremely cautious and wear all the correct protective gear."
Mr Charles, who started working for the Forestry Commission in 1966, said he went into hospital to have an operation on his prostate - but what clinicians discovered was even more concerning.
"I had a CT scan and they saw there were lumps in my stomach. I went on to have a biopsy and I was told it was cancerous," he added.
Mr Charles, from Talywain, Pontypool , also underwent a bone marrow test which was clear.
"I have had scans and investigations but thankfully the tumour has not grown any bigger at present," he added.
"Unfortunately they can't operate on me as it's in my stomach. I've seen a haematologist who has advised that they can control it but there is no cure."
Despite making peace with his diagnosis, listening to the radio at home one day changed things.
He added: “I was at home listening to the radio and they were talking about that case in the US where a man, Dewayne Johnson, received $289m because they linked his terminal illness with his use of weedkillers when he was a groundskeeper, and something made me sit up and think."
During the case, jurors in San Francisco found that the the well-known weed killer, Roundup, which contains glyphosate contributed to the terminal illness of Mr Johnson.
It meant that the the company that produces Roundup, Monsanto, was told to pay a considerable sum in damages.
Since this case there have been two further trial wins in the USA, with juries making awards of $80m and, in the latest case, £2.2bn against Monsanto.
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in many weedkillers, although the science about its safety is still inconclusive.
The chemical is sold by various retailers and is used in agriculture and forestry, for weeds in industrial areas, as well as on lawns and gardens.
Welsh law firm Watkins & Gunn is now giving legal advice to Mr Charles and is urging people to be aware of the dangers of using herbicides containing glyphosate.
Clive Thomas, managing partner and head of personal injury at Watkins & Gunn, said: "The case in the US has really concerned people about the possibility of a link between glyphosate in weed killer to cancer.
"This has been supported by the World Health Organisation’s international agency for research on Cancer (IARC) who classified glyphosate as 'probably carcinogenic to humans'.
"We will now be looking into Raymond’s case and it would be very helpful to know if anyone working in similar jobs has also developed similar symptoms."
