EPA Orders Nationwide Review Of Art Glass Makers After Portland Scare

"Federal inspectors are investigating whether glass makers outside Oregon are emitting the same toxic chemicals that landed two Portland art glass makers in the spotlight, records show.

A top official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a Feb. 25 memo that regulators have identified 14 factories that may make art glass using heavy metals, just as Portland's Bullseye Glass and Uroboros Glass did before coming under state scrutiny in February.

The Oregonian/OregonLive found at least three factories on the EPA's list, all in Rust Belt states, are using similar manufacturing methods to Bullseye and Uroboros. And the three companies, like Bullseye and Uroboros, are all exempt from a key federal rule designed to limit hazardous air pollution emitted by glass factories."

Fedor Zarkhin reports for the Portland Oregonian March 19, 2016.