Barge Backup along Mississippi River

TIPTON COUNTY, Tenn. - Idling barges, emergency, and environmental crews are about all there was cruising up and down about a 7 mile stretch of the Mississippi River Tuesday.

The river was closed to traffic after a chemical spill caused by a collision.

"We have a good supervisor that checked on everything before they let us go to work. If not, we wouldn't be able to go. It was alright, it didn't smell in the air. I didn't see anything in the water," said river worker, David Anten.

The river was originally shutdown Monday night when a barge going north was hit on its side by a tugboat going south. The barge was carrying a chemical compound used in plastics.

"The chemical, called Acrylonitrile, is a toxic and flammable liquid. When it goes into the water it disperses quickly unlike diesel and gasoline that leaves sheen on the water like what we all know is taking place on the Gulf Coast," said Covington-Tipton County EMA Director, Tommy Dunavant.

The Coast Guard said the barge sustained a hole the size of a softball in the collision. Officials still don't know how much of the chemical actually spilled. But it was enough to shutdown several miles of the river.

Dunavant said the barge was carrying 5,000 gallons and said more of the chemical may have spilled had it not been for the barges design.

"We were lucky this barge was kind of insulated so, there was an outer hole that protected the product."

Three men who were on the barge were hospitalized for respiratory problems.

The proximity of where the collision occurred to homes was also checked. But the nearest structure found was a hunting club about a mile away.