Bullseye Glass

The Oregon Health Authority says an increase in selenium concentrations near Bullseye Glass Company has prompted an inspection.  

While the state Department of Environmental Quality is working out a permanent system of rules, there’s still a long list of people with unanswered questions about the art glass business and human health.

DEQ's Keith Johnson lays out what the agreement will and won't do for Bullseye's production.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said the company may not make glass using a list of nine metals. Bullseye said this effectively eliminates 80 percent of its product lines.

The company is one of three major art glass makers in the region.

Health officials say there was a small but significant increase in the number of bladder cancers in North Portland over five years — between 1999 and 2003.

The announcement comes after weeks of concern following a study of moss and air that found arsenic levels 159 times higher than is considered safe, and cadmium levels 49 times higher.

The artistic glass maker at the center of Portland’s toxic air pollution controversy is taking steps to control its emissions.

Families living near Portland glass manufacturers say they’re not getting enough help from the state to check potentially toxic heavy metal pollution.