Update: Towboat Retrieves Runaway Barges on Ohio River

A towboat crew worked to corral and retrieve four barges, including one that contains hazardous benzene, after they broke loose from another boat early today on the Ohio River near Neville Island.

Emergency crews on and near Neville Island this afternoon are monitoring the status of the barges, which wedged against a railroad bridge abutment and along the shoreline of the river's back channel. The barges are "stable and secure," Neville Island Fire Lt. Jeff Thomas said this afternoon.

Still, the Sto-Rox School District has canceled classes for the day, and state police are stationed on the Interstate 79 bridge over Neville Island to stop traffic if the situation deteriorates along the river below the bridge.

The Quaker Valley School District also is monitoring the situation but has been advised by Allegheny County Emergency Services that it poses no hazard to district pupils. District officials said they would take appropriate steps to safeguard students and staff, and they ask that parents do not call or go to the schools.

Firefighters and hazmat crews from Neville Island, Moon and other nearby communities responded this morning after the barges broke away from a boat while it was preparing to enter the Emsworth Locks and Dam, state police said. One of the barges is loaded with crude oil, which contains benzene, and the others contain coal and steel coils, firefighters said.

A barge containing steel coils sank, firefighters said. Three others -- one empty, one other containing oil and benzene, and another containing coal -- are wedged against the river shoreline between Neville Island and Stowe Township, near the Fleming Park Bridge connecting the two communities. 

Cmd. Richard Timme of the U.S. Coast Guard said the barge containing benzene was secured and would be dislodged from the shoreline later this afternoon. He described the incident as "routine." 

"The barge is pretty much a steel box within a steel box," Timme said. "At this point it's not so much a threat but just a risk."

Benzene is water soluble and highly carcinogenic, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires detailed rules that include posting “Cancer Hazard” around areas where it is in use.

Timme said the Coast Guard will conduct an investigation into the incident, but said high waters and fast river currents caused by recent storms were likely factors. 

Authorities are using a series of barges powered by four towboats to dislodge the barge from the shoreline. Timme said crews will hook the barge containing benzene to another barge and pull it backward from the shore. The Pittsburgh River Rescue unit also is responding to the scene as a precautionary measure, Timme said. 

The Fleming Park Bridge was closed all day as a precaution, but reopened shortly before 8 p.m. according to county spokesman Kevin Evanto. The Sewickley Bridge remained open.