Bullseye Glass President Dan Schwoerer shows KOIN 6 News colorful glass made in his factory, Mar. 10, 2016
The embattled Southeast Portland glass company – Bullseye Glass (BE) – has installed a new filtration system to prevent dangerous metals from getting into the air. In February, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality found the area around the facility, had high levels of toxic chemicals cadmium and arsenic. The glass company voluntarily stopped using the metals in its manufacturing process. Later it said it would never again use arsenic. It also suspended the use of chromium.
The company has issued a press release on how the baghouse filter works. Air from the furnace passes up the stack, which filters out “99 percent of the particulate material” made using heavy metals during the production of glass.
Bullseye Glass President Dan Schwoerer next to the new filters at the glass furnace in Portland, OR.
The Washington Glass School has been asked how the issues affecting BE have impacted the art school and studio and the surrounding neighborhood. Director Erwin Timmers has confirmed that the toxicity issues are a problem for factories producing the glass, not the artists or their surrounding neighborhoods. Once the glass is made, all of the metals used during production to produce color become inert and therefore are safe to use in glass schools & studios.
That said, it is good to know that red, orange and yellow glass can again be part of the glass color range available to students!