I-55 TRAFFIC SLOWED AS RIG'S CARGO SEEN LEAKING

A five-mile stretch of Interstate 55 near Portageville, Mo., was closed Thursday afternoon after a hazardous chemical was seen leaking from a barrel being hauled by a flat-bed truck.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said it closed down the interstate around 12:15 p.m. and began rerouting northbound traffic on a service road between mile markers 27 and 32 in Pemiscot County. Southbound traffic was not affected.

The patrol received a report that a flat-bed truck was carrying a chemical barrel that was leaking. Upon inspection, it was discovered the barrel was leaking a chemical called Demapa.

A patrol spokesman said the chemical was vaporizing into the air and was not leaking into the ground. He did not have any details about the truck, its cargo or potential hazards of Demapa.

Hazardous material cleanup crews from Troy, Ill., showed up around 6:15 p.m., and police said they expected cleanup to take less than an hour.

There were no injuries associated with the leak, and the highway patrol spokesman said the only problem it caused was a traffic slowdown.