State on Bullseye health effects: "Don't ask us"

Back in 2016, it was revealed that the Bullseye Glass factory over by Cleveland High School in inner southeast Portland had been emitting some pretty nasty stuff into the air. People live, work, and go to school all around that place, and they had been inhaling some scary stuff, not to mention eating suspect produce out of their backyard gardens. The city also found a bunch of bad stuff in a nearby sewer.

The State of Oregon, particularly the DEQ, had let all those people down, in a big way. What a disgrace. The agency director resigned.

Bullseye got sued by the neighbors, and it paid $6.5 million to settle the lawsuit. Bullseye also sued the state, alleging that its civil rights had been violated. 

Since then, Bullseye has had to clean up its act considerably, although you wouldn't catch me living near that joint even now. Meanwhile, the state has been looking into how badly the neighbors had been exposed before the whistle was blown in '16. The place had been in operation for more than 40 years at that point, and stories about its environmental practices could curl your hair.

This week, after lots of hemming and hawing, the state issued a lengthy draft report saying, "Aw shucks, we don't know." 

OHA cannot conclude whether inhaling air around Bullseye Glass for long periods before February 2016 could harm people’s health.

And yet:

Had there been no interventions to reduce metal emissions from Bullseye Glass, long-term exposure to conditions measured in October 2015 could have harmed people’s health.

Draw whatever conclusion you want, I guess. More greatness from Salem.

But everything's fine now, they say. Honest.