COVINGTON, Tenn. — Three tug boat workers were hospitalized after a barge collision on the Mississippi River that resulted in a chemical spill.
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Ian Byrd said the workers were hospitalized as a precaution because they may have inhaled fumes from the chemical acrylonitrile that one of the barges was carrying.
Acrylonitrile is a man-made, colorless, liquid chemical with a sharp onion- or garlic-like odor that can be dissolved in water and evaporates quickly, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry website.
Byrd said the Coast Guard is still trying to determine whether more than one barge was damaged.
The accident happened at about 9 p.m. Monday near the Hatchie River inlet at mile marker 775.5. That’s between Tipton County and Lauderdale County on the Tennessee side and about 8 miles south of Osceola on the Arkansas side. The river is temporarily closed between mile markers 776 and 769.