Donna Grunzweig looks at three large smoke stacks rising above the Tonawanda Coke complex and sees more than just an eyesore.
"It's ugly, it smells," she said. "It's pouring out smoke."
She also believes the facility made her and others ill.
"A lot of people are sick in the area," Grunzweig added. "I just finished cancer treatment at Roswell.
Grunzweig was diagnosed with Sarcoma, a type of cancer that effects muscles or soft tissue.
Few people have ever heard of the disease, she said.
"I had never heard of it until I got it. It was very scary."
Grunzweig beat the disease. Now she and others who live in the northwest portion of the town are looking to do battle with -- what they believe -- is the chief cause of their health problems.
On Monday, members of the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York gathered in Kaufman Park to address new concerns surrounding the coke-producing facility.
"We're here today because we are concerned that there may be too much tar sledge at Tonawanda Coke," said the coalition's Erin Heaney.
Tar sledge, a byproduct of the coking process, is a dark, sticky substance that poses a threat to human health, Heaney added.
"I just want to know how much tar sledge there is and where it's being stored." Jeani Thomson said.
Thomson has several health problems, including asthma, that she believes is caused by high levels of benzene.
A recent report by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said Tonawanda Coke is releasing benzene into the air at 75 times the recommended number.
The Environmental Protection Agency is requiring a new round of testing, both inside the plant and throughout the surrounding neighborhood, next Spring.
An employee for Tonawanda Coke declined comment on this story.
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