Oil Spill Cap Causes New Environmental Problems
BP has finally succeeded in containing the leak from their oil rig explosion that happened almost 3 months ago. Press officials confirmed that the new containment cap is containing the leak, but the continuously conducted testing by BP has found a seep in the ocean floor which might have been caused by the pressure from the cap.
This green living initiative is going to prevent the spread of the oil spill to the Atlantic Ocean as well as prevent it from creeping up the Mississippi River. The cap was closed on Thursday afternoon and by late Sunday the seep had been detected.
This seep in the sea floor has caused many to be alarmed and has made relations between BP and the federal government even more hostile, since the government was promised by BP that they would be monitoring the sea bed extremely closely. The seep, could in theory, allow the oil and gas to escape through the bedrock and mud, therefore creating a situation in which the oil could not be contained and make green cleaning efforts fruitless.
Because of the strained relations between the government and BP due to this oversight, many worried we’d have to go back to square one, being no closer to closing the oil spill than we were three months ago, but the government is allowing the cap to stay on nice and tight.
Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government’s point man for the oil spill cleanup, said they were allowing BP to keep the spill capped as long as they continue to meet their obligations to rigorously monitor the area for signs the cap could worsen the situation.
