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Too Cozy? A DEQ Air Quality Official Apparently Vacationed With An Attorney Representing Industry

At a time when the stateโ€™s environmental regulators are facing accusations of cozy relationships with the industries theyโ€™re supposed to police, the case of former Air Quality Administrator Andrew Ginsburg deserves some attention. After all, thereโ€™s not much cozier than a corporate lawyerโ€™s winter vacation cabin. The Mercury has learned that as Ginsburg was paid […]

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Portland Glass Makersโ€™ Fluorine Use Deserves Scrutiny, Experts Say

Michelle Mitchell Bullseye Glass’ facility, near SE Powell and 21st With two Portland glassmakers suspending use of the carcinogens cadmium, chromium and, in the case of one, arsenic this week, Gov. Kate Brown announced on Monday: โ€œThese steps address the immediate concerns to public health in terms of air quality.โ€ But those materials arenโ€™t the […]

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Southeast Portland Residents Are Meeting With Seattle Attorneys Over Potential Glass Factory Pollution

Lawyers with nationally prominent environmental law firm, Seattle-based Keller Rohrback LLP, are meeting with Southeast Portland residents who fear theyโ€™ve been exposed to harmful heavy metal emissions in their neighborhood. The state Department of Environmental Quality has blamed Bullseye Glass, 3722 SE 21st, for high readings of arsenic and cadmium. Matthew Preusch, a lawyer with […]

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The Oregon Department of Justice Is Wading Into Concerns Over Portland Glass Emissions

Considerable relief attended Bullseye Glass’s announcement last Friday that it was suspending the use of various forms of chromium. And while its chromium-free stance may well last, its commitment to eschew the heavy metal lasts only until this Friday, according to a Bullseye spokesman. Even that short promise took more leverage than state environmental regulators […]

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Bullseye Glass’ Sales Were $19.8 Million Last Year. Pollution Controls Would Have Cost A Tiny Fraction of That.

Southeast Portlandโ€™s Bullseye Glass had sales of $19.8 million last year according to a Nebraska data firm. Pollution controls on the furnaces state regulators believe have been spewing carcinogens would have cost a fraction of that. That nearly $20 million sales figure, obtained by the company Infogroup, is interesting given estimates by two pollution-control experts […]

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Essential Pollution Controls Lacking at Two Glass Plants Blamed For Cadmium Emissions

Glass powder accumulating on the roof of Bullseye Glass in 2013. The company sent workers up weekly to clean up the powder. THE SOUTHEAST PORTLAND glass studio that state environmental regulators believe emitted two toxic carcinogens for years or decades doesn’t use a crucial pollution control device on its furnaces. And itโ€™s not the only […]

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Bullseye Glass Has Suspended Use of Arsenic and Cadmium Because of Air Quality Concerns

Bullseye Glass is suspending its use of cadmium and arsenic for now, following concerns by state regulators over alarming concentrations of those substances in the air around the Southeast Portland facility. Co-owner Daniel Schwoerer emailed a short statement to the Mercury this morning: “As of yesterday we have suspended the production of all cadmium and […]

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State Finds Alarmingly High Arsenic, Cadmium Levels Near Two SE Portland Schools

Google A portion of the Bullseye Glass facility in SE Portland Within days, state officials are slated to release the alarming results of a monitoring program of airborne heavy metals, including arsenic, conducted this past October in inner Southeast Portland, the Mercury has learned. The state Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Health Authority […]

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