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Barge Collision Causes Slurry Oil Spill, Shuts Down Part of Mississippi River

Jay-P
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Flickr (Creative Commons License)

The U.S. Coast Guard has shut down a portion of the Mississippi River after a tow boat collision last night released and what could be thousands of gallons of clarified slurry oil into the water. The slurry oil is a partially refined product used in gasoline production.  The Coast Guard reports up to 250,000 gallons could have been released at the crash site near Columbus, Kentucky.

Coast Guard Spokesperson Seth Johnson said an aerial assessment revealed a five-mile discoloration of the river south of the collision. The river is shut down between mile markers 939 and 922.

“It’s basically a safety zone so that workers can  enter and exit unimpeded and a queue has been established for vessel traffic. Outside of that, the responsible party has established air monitoring in the region just to make sure that any vapors or anything aren’t going to harm anybody in the region,” Johnson said.  

Johnson said the Coast Guard is working with an oil spill response organization to determine the amount of slurry oil spilled. An investigation into the tow boat collision is ongoing.

A proud native of Murray, Kentucky, Allison grew up roaming the forests of western Kentucky and visiting national parks across the country. She graduated in 2014 from Murray State University where she studied Environmental Sustainability, Television Production, and Spanish. She loves meeting new people, questioning everything, and dancing through the sun and the rain. She hopes to make a positive impact in this world several endeavors at a time.
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