Abarge carrying 1,400 tons of methanol, a toxic substance, is among those to have crashed on the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday and is partially submerged. The Louisville Metropolitan Emergency Services (LMES) said that shortly after 2 a.m. ET a vessel towing 11 barges made contact with a “stationary structure” at the entrance to the Portland Canal, to the west of Louisville, near the McAlpine Dam.
It comes just weeks after a toxic plume traveled down the major U.S. waterway from the site of a train derailment near East Palestine, on the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania, prompting measures to prevent contamination of the drinking water that is supplied to around 5 million people from the river.
The LMES stressed in a statement that there is “currently zero evidence of a tank breach or any leaks” and that “air and water monitoring resources are in place.”
“Safety is the top concern—safety of the public and first responder personnel,” it added. “There is currently no impact to Louisville Water’s water intake or water quality.”
The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) said the barge carrying methanol in its three cargo holds was “lodged” in the lower McAlpine Dam—which was built along with a series of locks to allow boats to circumvent the Falls of the Ohio—and that the nearest municipal water intake was downstream in Henderson, Kentucky.
Kevin Roberts, the director of operations at Henderson Water Utility, clarified that their intake was the nearest to the crash in Kentucky, but noted that there were several intakes on the Indiana side of the river before theirs.
“If it is to breach and is uncontained, traveling downstream, we do not anticipate it being a problem for Henderson,” he said. “We have the available means to treat any residual concentration that hasn’t evaporated by the time it makes it to us.”
Roberts noted the utility firm was receiving regular updates from authorities, adding: “The situation is well in hand. We don’t expect it to be a problem for us.”
An LMES spokesperson told ABC News that the companies that owned the barges were “marshalling significant resources in response to the incident” but that the Louisville Fire Department had deployed hazmat monitoring until private contractors arrived on the scene.
As a result of the contact, 10 of the barges being towed broke loose, three of which became pinned against the lower McAlpine Dam. The LMES said the other barges had been carrying corn and soy.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the area specified that one had been pinned against the Louisville and Indiana bridge pier. It was recovered by 12:31 p.m. ET. Those not stuck had been recovered by nearby vessels.
Images from the crash site show one barge bent around the pier, while another had been tilted on its side and appears to be leaning against one of the pier’s columns. A third barge sits beside them.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers added that there had been “no injuries reported and all personnel are accounted for.”
🚨#BREAKING: Multiple Emergency Response Teams has been Deployed to Address Submerged Barge Carrying 1,400 Tons of Toxic Methanol in the Ohio River
📌#Louisville | #Kentucky
⁰A major incident has taken place in the Ohio River near Louisville, Kentucky, requiring multiple… pic.twitter.com/swXQD8c5Zk— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 29, 2023
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), methanol is not only “highly flammable” and explosive, but is also toxic to humans in small amounts. The effects of methanol poisoning may not become apparent until 72 hours after being ingested, and can include blindness, vomiting, heart failure and death.
“The characteristic pungent (alcohol) odor of methanol does not provide sufficient warning of low levels of exposure,” the CDC notes. Methanol can contaminate air, water and food, and is typically used as a solvent or a pesticide.
The LMES said the city’s Emergency Management Agency was leading the response effort, and personnel from the Kentucky EEC were monitoring water and air quality around the site.
Several municipal water companies that use the Ohio River as a source previously said they had increased their quality testing and filtration processes as a precautionary measure, after what the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) described as a “contaminant plume” was detected traveling downstream.
The plume came from the rail crash near East Palestine on February 3, which spilled toxic chemicals into the soil and surrounding environment and caused residents to complain of symptoms associated with exposure to toxic chemicals.
The EPA later said that some of those contaminants had made their way into Sulphur Run, a creek that runs past the crash site and eventually into the Ohio River. The plume is now believed to have dissipated beyond detectable levels.