This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/8668753.stm
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Funnel 'poised over' US oil spill | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A giant funnel has been positioned above a blown-out oil well in the seabed in the Gulf of Mexico in an attempt to contain oil leaking from it. | |
| Underwater robots equipped with cameras have placed the 98-tonne device above the main leak, some 5,000 ft (1,500m) below the surface. | |
| It is hoped it will start collecting as much as 85% of the oil and funnelling it to a tanker by Monday. | |
| Oil from the massive slick has washed ashore on islands off Louisiana coast. | |
| Pelicans and other birds were found covered in oil on the uninhabited Chandeleur Islands - the second oldest national wildlife refuge in the US and home to countless endangered birds. | Pelicans and other birds were found covered in oil on the uninhabited Chandeleur Islands - the second oldest national wildlife refuge in the US and home to countless endangered birds. |
| A federal maritime agency said there was "oiling all over" the islands. | A federal maritime agency said there was "oiling all over" the islands. |
| Risky operation | Risky operation |
| An estimated 800,000 litres (176,000 imperial gallons of oil a day has been leaking unstopped for 18 days from the well, 50 miles (80km) off Louisiana, since an explosion destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig last month, killing 11 workers. | |
| Although the rig was operated by Transocean, it was leased by the British oil giant, BP, which has taken charge of the clean-up process. | Although the rig was operated by Transocean, it was leased by the British oil giant, BP, which has taken charge of the clean-up process. |
| It said it hoped the gigantic concrete and steel containment device, once operational, would contain about 85% of the oil leaking out. | It said it hoped the gigantic concrete and steel containment device, once operational, would contain about 85% of the oil leaking out. |
| HOW THE OIL FUNNEL WORKS The funnel is a 40ft tall iron box, weighing 98 tonnesIt will be placed over the leak, 5,000ft down on the seabedBP hopes it will collect 85% of the leaking oil and pipe it to the surface | HOW THE OIL FUNNEL WORKS The funnel is a 40ft tall iron box, weighing 98 tonnesIt will be placed over the leak, 5,000ft down on the seabedBP hopes it will collect 85% of the leaking oil and pipe it to the surface |
| When the device reaches its destination, the robots will then secure it around the leaking pipe, a process that is expected to take hours. The technology has been used a few times in shallow waters, but never at such extreme depths and under such high pressure. | |
| "We are essentially taking a four-story building and lowering it 5,000 feet and setting it on the head of a pin," a BP spokesman, Bill Salvin, told The Associated Press news agency. | |
| If the device is not aligned properly while being lowered, it could make the problem worse by damaging the leaking pipe. | |
| Other risks include the drill-pipe becoming clogged with ice, and explosions when separating the mix of oil, gas and water on the surface. | Other risks include the drill-pipe becoming clogged with ice, and explosions when separating the mix of oil, gas and water on the surface. |
| We haven't done this before. It's very complex, and we can't guarantee it BP spokesman David Nicholas | |
| But if the containment device works, a second box now being built will be lowered into the water over a second, smaller leak. | |
| These devices will not put an end to the problem on the seafloor. A relief well is still being drilled while BP thinks up other ways to help stop the leak. | |
| In the meantime, residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida await news of when the oil will reach their shores. | |
| Inflatable booms | Inflatable booms |
| On Thursday, the US Coast Guard confirmed for the first time oil had made its way past protective booms and was washing up on land. | On Thursday, the US Coast Guard confirmed for the first time oil had made its way past protective booms and was washing up on land. |
| Fears are growing for the safety of the area's manifest wildlife | Fears are growing for the safety of the area's manifest wildlife |
| Heavier concentrations of crude remain further offshore, and the Coast Guard said weather forecasts suggested it would stay there until the weekend. | Heavier concentrations of crude remain further offshore, and the Coast Guard said weather forecasts suggested it would stay there until the weekend. |
| BP said emergency teams had been sent to Freemason Island, a favourite fishing spot for recreational anglers some 30 miles (50km) off Louisiana's coast, to deploy inflatable booms to protect its prime marshland. | BP said emergency teams had been sent to Freemason Island, a favourite fishing spot for recreational anglers some 30 miles (50km) off Louisiana's coast, to deploy inflatable booms to protect its prime marshland. |
| Fears are growing that sea life may have been severely affected in the area, which includes vital spawning grounds for fish, shrimp and crabs. | |
| The attempt by BP to lower the funnel comes as Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar called for a halt to permits for new exploratory drilling in the US, pending a 30-day investigation into the cause of the oil spill. | |
| Some environmentalists are now calling for a permanent ban on offshore drilling as a result of the spill. | |
| PROJECTED SPREAD OF OIL SPILL ON 7 MAY | PROJECTED SPREAD OF OIL SPILL ON 7 MAY |