Portland Glass Company Faces Toxic Air Class Action

A group of Portland residents have filed a class action lawsuit against Bullseye Glass Company alleging the corporation knowingly released toxic chemicals the air, polluting their neighborhood for years.

According to lead plaintiff Alyssa Isenstein Krueger, since the Bullseye Glass factory opened in 1974,”the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (‘DEQ’) measured arsenic in Southeast Portland at over 159 times state-established safety levels, and cadmium at 49 times safety levels. Bullseye knew or should have known that it is and has been emitting significant amounts of toxic materials.”

The class action states that arsenic is known to cause cancer of the liver, bladder and lungs. Pregnant female animals that have ingested large amounts of arsenic have been noted to have low birth weight, fetal malfunctions and even fetal death, according to the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit further states that cadmium exposure can damage lungs, stomach, kidneys and even bones.

Last month, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced they found high levels of those toxins near Bullseye Glass and Uroboros Glass Studio in North Portland, through moss studies conducted by U.S. Forest Service. The DEQ is in the midst of testing soil samples from both locations and results are expected later this month.

Krueger and three other plaintiff families claim in the 18-page complaint that, “Bullseye privately lobbied the United States Environmental Protection Agency to create an exemption in Clean Air Act regulations so that it would not need to treat or filter the emissions from its smokestacks. As a result, Bullseye has contaminated homes, businesses, and families.”

The class action lawsuit further alleges that Bullseye Glass repeatedly lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency for Clean Air Act exemptions over the glass factory’s cadmium and arsenic use.

“Bullseye privately lobbied EPA to create an exemption for glass makers of its size, in order to avoid complying with the proposed rule. EPA granted Bullseye’s wish … Bullseye has continued to emit arsenic, cadmium, and other metals, from roughly 1974 until some point in February 2016,” the lawsuit states.

The families claim that since 1974, “Bullseye has been using the neighborhood’s air and backyards as a dumping ground for the arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and other toxins it sends up its smokestacks. Notwithstanding the fact that Bullseye uses thousands of pounds each year of these toxic heavy metals in its glass furnaces, it has decided not to install any pollution control technology to capture these pollutants; it freely sends waste from its furnaces into the air of Southeast Portland.”

There are approximately 6,000 people living in the immediate area surrounding Bullseye Glass Company that could be part of the class action lawsuit, in addition to hundreds of others who work in the area.

“The toxic emissions from Bullseye present a clear threat to the health of people living and working in Southeast Portland. While some of the harms from this exposure are manifest today, others may remain latent or undetected for years, leaving those exposed to Bullseye’s waste to deal with health impacts today and into the distant future,” the class action lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiff families, who all have at least one child, seek Class certification and are calling for Bullseye Glass Company to pay for urine and blood testing for arsenic, cadmium and chromium for all residents living within 1.5 miles of their factory. They also want Bullseye Glass to cover their attorneys’ fees and costs, and called the factory negligent and their actions in Portland “intentional and abnormally dangerous.”

Bullseye Glass Company operates in 28 other states and 21 other countries.

The plaintiffs are represented by Daniel Mensher and Matthew Preusch of Keller Rohrback L.L.P.; and Karl G. Anuta of the Law Office of Karl G. Aunta, P.C.

The Bullseye Glass Company Toxic Air Class Action Lawsuit is Krueger et al. v. Bullseye Glass Co., filed in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for the County of Multnomah.