NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) -- The Rainbow Bridge connecting the United States and Canada was closed for five hours Sunday evening after crews were sent to deal with a suspected release of hazardous material, officials said.
The bridge from Niagara Falls, N.Y., to Niagara Falls, Ontario, was closed at about 5:45 p.m., according to emergency dispatchers. It reopened about 10:45 p.m., after firefighters, FBI agents and hazardous materials teams visited the scene.
Traffic was rerouted to other spans across the Niagara River, including Buffalo's Peace Bridge and the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.
Barry Morrissey, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said some officers working on the bridge had throat and nose irritation, though none required hospitalization.
The officers were apparently looking at cash that someone had hidden in a vehicle with some substance mixed with it that caused the irritation, FBI spokesman Paul Moskal said. ''It doesn't seem to be anything associated with terrorism,'' he said.
