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'Top Hat Dome' Now Main Effort in Stopping Oil Leak

   VOA News 14 May 2010
   In  this  11  May  2010 photo released by the US Coast Guard, monitors
   show  a  small  pollution containment chamber, known as the 'top hat,'
   being lowered into the Gulf of Mexico by the motor vessel Viking

Photo: AP

   In  this  11  May  2010 photo released by the US Coast Guard, monitors
   show  a  small  pollution containment chamber, known as the 'top hat,'
   being  lowered  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico by the motor vessel Viking
   Poseidon

   The  U.S. Coast Guard says oil company BP is moving into place a small
   containment chamber in an effort to contain the massive underwater oil
   leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
   In  a  briefing  with reporters Friday, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen
   said  the  "top  hat"  chamber - named for its shape - is now the main
   operation  being attempted by BP to contain the flow of crude from the
   damaged oil well.
   He  says  they  should  know  by  late  Friday  if the top hat dome is
   successful.   If not, the Coast Guard official says BP is prepared to
   try  severing  the  leaking  pipe  and  inserting a valve, among other
   methods.
   U.S.  President  Barack  Obama  is expected to make a statement to the
   media  on  the  spill later Friday, after meeting with his advisers to
   discuss what more can be done to stop the leak.
   Allen  says  the  rapidly spreading oil spill is changing in character
   and  is  no  longer  a single slick but is more widely dispersed.  He
   says  that  means  the  spill  is  more difficult to contain, but will
   likely come ashore in smaller amounts.
   Meanwhile, a researcher at Purdue University estimates that the amount
   of  oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico is many times greater than the
   5,000 barrels a day projected by BP.
   Associate  professor  Steve Wereley says calculations he made based on
   watching  video  of  the leak suggest as much as 70,000 barrels of oil
   are leaking daily.  BP stands by its estimate.
   Admiral  Allen  says the Coast Guard has always treated the spill as a
   catastrophic event, and any estimate would not change the response.
   BP  says  its  calculation  was  made  in  consultation  with the U.S.
   National  Oceanic  and  Atmospheric  Administration.   BP  and  other
   researchers  say  there  is no way to make accurate calculations based
   strictly on the available video of the leak.
   BP  reported  Thursday that the cost of containing and cleaning up the
   massive oil spill has reached $450 million.
   Emergency  response officials say more than 526 vessels are working to
   contain  the massive spill, and 14 staging areas have been established
   to   protect   shorelines   in   the  southern  states  of  Louisiana,
   Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
   The  spill  began  after an oil rig exploded April 20 off the coast of
   Louisiana  and  sank two days later.  Eleven workers were killed as a
   result of the initial explosion.

   Â

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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