TONAWANDA, N.Y. — Groups who advocate for clean air, workplace safety, and economic justice protested at the entrance of the DuPont Plant in Tonawanda on Thursday. They wanted to be seen by a group of lawmakers and others who were on a scheduled visit to the facility.

In a statement, DuPont's plant manager Ronald Lee said recent investment in the plant has brought manufacturing from Korea to Tonawanda.

The demonstrators said DuPont should not receive tax breaks. They said worker safety issues – including the 2010 death of a plant worker, as well as E.P.A. Clean Air Act Violations, and possible future layoffs – should make DuPont ineligible for government subsidies.

The group wants DuPont to improve worker safety and gradually stop using toxic chemicals.

"We're seeing chemical exposure in workers, that means they're going home sick," said Allison Duwe, the Executive Director of the Coalition for Economic Justice. "Moreover the emissions coming out of the plant mean the families of the those workers are getting sick."

The DuPont spokesman said the company takes environmental stewardship seriously.