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Glass Furnace Closes in Portland

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Glass Furnace Closes in Portland

Glass Furnace Closes in Portland

Uroboros Glass, a glass furnace in Portland, has announced that it will close its doors next year. The closure is due, in part, to the company’s inability to meet a host of new regulations by different government agencies. The company cited environmental, safety and seismic regulations that it said eliminated the company’s long-term viability.

Uroboros Glass one of two Portland furnaces

Uroboros Glass is one of two glass furnaces in Portland at the center of an environmental debate about the safety of its emissions. Uroboros Glass and Bullseye Glass both came under fire after state and federal regulators determined that the companies were the sources of elevated levels of toxic heavy metals in and around their plants.

Bullseye Glass recently resumed full production at its furnace after an expensive filtration system was installed. The filtration system is designed to reduce emissions of heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead – all of which are used in making stained glass. Following resumption of its full production schedule, Bullseye again is receiving scrutiny from federal and state regulators for unusually high levels of selenium in the air around the furnace.

The new filtration system at Bullseye Glass is known as a baghouse filter. The filtration system costs about $500,000 and Bullseye installed three baghouses, which use a number of strategies to collect particulate emissions. Baghouse filters can have a collection efficiency of as much as 99.9%. Because heating is part of the filtration process, the filtered air can be returned to the production facility to provide supplemental heat, if desired.

Initially, the glass furnaces thought they were exempt from state and federal emissions regulations, largely because state regulators assumed that the glass furnaces operated on a “batch” basis. In reality, the furnaces operated non-stop for long periods to meet consumer demands for stained glass.

Uroboros Glass has not yet named a closure date, but indicated on its Facebook page that the closure would take place in early 2017.

Painted glass is emerging as a potential replacement for stained glass. Painted glass often produces a greater range of colors than stained glass does. Glassprimer™ glass paint is designed to bond permanently to glass surfaces without additional heat curing. Once cured, Glassprimer™ glass paint will not chip, fade or peel, and provides exceptional UV resistance.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: David Bilbo , via Flickr.com

Oregon still wrestles with art glass question

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Oregon still wrestles with art glass question

Oregon still wrestles with art glass question

The State of Oregon is nearing a decision on final rules for the production of colored art glass. The state’s major producers came under closer scrutiny after regulators discovered higher-than-acceptable emissions of toxic metals from their operations.

Art glass producers under regulatory microscope

The state’s largest producers of colored glass and colored glass supplies have installed filters to capture chromium, arsenic, cadmium and other toxic heavy metals. Smaller producers are asking the State of Oregon to exempt them from the filtration requirements. They’re seeking to apply regulations only to producers that generate more than 10 tons of colored glass per year.

The State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has been monitoring the companies’ reduced emissions since it put temporary restrictions in place earlier this year. According to the state, its testing revealed that even at the reduced production levels, processed chromium still poses a major problem.

Glass producers melt trivalent chromium in a furnace as part of the colored glass making process. By itself, trivalent chromium does not pose a significant health hazard. After smelting, however, chromium that isn’t trapped the glass emerges as hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen. Even worse, according to the state, the filtration systems currently in use by the glass manufacturers capture only two-thirds of the carcinogenic chromium emissions. The rest is released into the surrounding air.

The DEQ has temporarily prohibited the glassmakers from using any chromium in their glassmaking processes. Chromium is a standard additive in making green glass. It can also be used to make black glass. Chromium is also mixed with other metals, including tin oxide and arsenic, to make emerald green.

The problem isn’t a small one, and it isn’t limited strictly to artistic glass. Green glass is commonly used in food containers. While ordinary soda lime glass has a greenish tint, that coloration comes from iron oxide. Darker green containers – such as those used for storing wine and oil – would also be affected by the ban.

Arsenic, when combined with other metal oxides, is used to create imitation porcelain. Cadmium, which is toxic by itself, is used to create intense yellow glass and various glazes. When it is combined with other additives, like sulphur and selenium, it produces deep colors that range from orange to red.

The question of emissions in Oregon has spurred a larger debate, and has prompted the US EPA to examine glass factory emissions more closely. Glassprimer™ glass paint offers an option for creating colored glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specially engineered glass coating that is applied directly to the glass surface. It can be tinted to match the paint palette of any major paint manufacturer and makes a permanent bond to the glass surface. Once cured, it will not chip, fade or peel, and performs well, even in harsh environments.

For more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Nancy McClure, via FreeImages.com

Toledo glass makers concerned about closings

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Toledo glass makers concerned about closings

Toledo glass makers concerned about closings

Art glass makers in Toledo, OH worry that they’ll be negatively affected by the closing of an art glass supplier in Washington State. Spectrum, which sells glass and supplies to glassmakers nationwide, announced last month that it intended to cease operations. Spectrum became the subject of an Environmental Protection Agency probe after officials noted a spike in the amount of heavy metals around the Spectrum furnace.

Art glass makers say future is in doubt

Spectrum had been operating in compliance with EPA emissions regulations. In a written statement announcing the closure, Spectrum CEO Craig Barker said, “Spectrum Glass Company has operated well within existing environmental guidelines and has been the only stained glass manufacturer to employ baghouse technology on furnace exhaust. Still, we have already accrued extraordinary, unanticipated expenses since the start of the EPA evaluation and cannot withstand additional investments of an unknown scale for an already faltering company.”

Spectrum’s closure leaves the future uncertain for Toledo’s art glass community. Producers worry that they will no longer be able to find specific supplies, or that the cost of making glass will exceed what they can recover from sales.

The Environmental Protection Agency became especially worried about emissions of specific metals from the plant, including cadmium. Cadmium is used to create red, yellow and orange glass. Cadmium is a known carcinogen. The EPA also noted increased amounts of lead around the plant, although residents who live in the area have not shown any increase in blood-lead levels.

Bullseye, a Portland-based glass manufacturer, also ceased manufacturing the supplies to make those colors after the EPA found elevated levels of cadmium in the air around Bullseye’s furnace. The company has reduced its output to just 20% of its regular production level in an attempt to comply with EPA emissions regulations. Findings at the plants in Oregon and Washington have triggered a nationwide review of glass plant emissions.

Glassprimer™ glass paint offers an environmentally friendly, cost-effective way to apply color permanently to glass. Glassprimer™ requires no firing after application, and dries to a permanent cure in 24-72 hours.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Sergey Lebedev, via FreeImages.com

Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

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Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

Art glass factories facing EPA regulation

More than a dozen art glass factories around the United States are coming under increased scrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency, state and local regulators, after apparently running afoul of heavy-metal emission regulations earlier this year. Federal researchers with the United States Forestry Service discovered dangerously high levels of heavy metals in tree moss samples in the Portland, OR area. Additional investigation pinpointed the source of the heavy metals as the art glass factories in the area.

Glass makers not exempt from heavy metals emissions

Spectrum, of Woodinville, WA, has already announced that it will close its doors instead of attempting to comply with more restrictive emission regulations. Bullseye Glass in Portland is attempting to remain open, despite regulatory pressure and a production moratorium that has been imposed on the factory by the State of Oregon. A third Portland-based manufacturer, Uroboros, which has partnered with Spectrum on certain products, also says it will continue to manufacture and produce colored glass and glass colorants. The EPA is particularly concerned that the factories have been emitting vaporized cadmium into the air after the agency discovered that none of Portland’s glass factories had the requisite pollution control systems installed on their glass-melt furnaces.

The factories make agents used by glassmakers to produce colored glass. Additives, including lead, nickel, arsenic, cadmium and chromium, have become the subject of concern for regulators, and have been measured in significantly elevated levels in the soils around the factories. The EPA is also questioning state regulators and their interpretations of federal regulations, as well as their enforcement practices.

Initially, the factories thought they were exempt from more stringent regulations, but pressure on the state’s Department of Environmental Quality by the EPA and local residents has brought about a new understanding of federal emissions requirements. In addition, the EPA is reviewing emissions data from about 15 other art glass factories around the country that use similar production practices.

About half of the factories that are the subject of enhanced EPA scrutiny are located in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The remainder are clustered in Oregon and Washington State. The EPA has not yet concluded its investigation of the factories, but many glassmakers point out that their production processes do not violate federal laws.

Glassprimer™ glass paint provides an excellent alternative to colored glass. Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in a wide range of colors and creates a permanent bond with the glass surface. In addition, Glassprimer™ glass paint comes in both oil-based and water-based formulations. Our water-based formulation cleans up with water, and both formulations are low-odor, low-VOC compounds.

If you’d like more information about working with Glassprimer™ glass paint, please check out the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Kenn Kiser , via FreeImages.com

GlassFest Lights Up Corning

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GlassFest Lights Up Corning

GlassFest Lights Up Corning

What do you do to celebrate your town’s contributions to the glass industry? If you’re Corning, NY, you throw a four-day party known as GlassFest. GlassFest is in its 7th year and boasts all things glass. GlassFest took place this year from May 26-May 29 and featured hot glass shows, live music, food and fireworks.

GlassFest dedicated to glass arts

There were plenty of glass-blowing demonstrations, and thousands of visitors to watch some of the best glass artisans in the country show off their wares. In addition to glass artisans, visitors found plenty of pottery, jewelry and metalwork. And no street festival would be complete without an 8K run. With clear skies and temperatures in the 90s, the weather was just about perfect. Vendors from around the region commingled with food trucks, wineries, musicians and tourists to celebrate the industry that put Corning on the map.

One of the anchors of the festival is the Corning Glass Museum, which is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily. The museum has been in operation since 1951, when it was given as a gift to the people of the United States in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Corning Glass Works. Although the company is now known as Corning, Inc., the museum entertains 10s of thousands of visitors each year. But if you visit, you should know that it’s not the “Look-but-don’t-touch” kind of museum.

Instead, you’ll find plenty of interactive displays in the hands-on exhibits in the Innovation Center. You’ll also see lots of Hot Glass Shows, that both occupy museum space, and travel around the country. The Glass Lab is a traveling workshop for designers who want to experiment with glass. New glass makers can take courses at the museum, and researchers can find many Web-accessible resources through the Rakow Research Library – a library devoted to glass. You’ll also find more than 50,000 pieces of glass on display in the museums galleries, the newest of which boasts more than 26,000 square feet of display space.

Although this year’s GlassFest is already in the books, you can make your plans for next year’s event. (The dates have not yet been finalized.) If you’d like ideas for decorating glass, please check out the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Niklas Morberg, via Flickr.com