PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Production at Bullseye Glass is down 50% since it voluntarily agreed to stop the use of cadmium, chromium and arsenic. The Southeast Portland manufacturer agreed to stop using the elements while the DEQ investigated elevated levels of heavy metals in the air and soil.
On Wednesday, the DEQ released soil test results from the area, saying it didn’t find enough heavy metals to be considered harmful. That is good news for the folks at Bullseye, who are working with the DEQ to get their operation back up to speed.
Bullseye President Dan Schwoerer says glasses made from cadmium are the oranges, yellows and red. Without those colors, production is down.
“In the meantime, we’re making glasses that we don’t really have orders for immediately but we want to keep our employees gainfully employed,” Schwoerer says.
Bullseye has submitted a notice of intent with the DEQ to construct a filtration system, called a ‘bag house.’ That plan has been approved by the DEQ.
“By moving forward with this bag house we’ll be able to get back to making some of those glasses for our international and national customers, so I’m optimistic that we’re gonna be able to keep this on track and move forward.”
Schwoerer hopes to be making bright colored glass again by the end of the month.
