Some oil being captured from cap

Oil continues to leak into the Gulf of Mexico, but a cap placed on the well is allowing some of the oil to be collected. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said at a news conference today that BP collected 6,000 barrels of oil in the first 24 hours of pumping oil to a ship on the surface. It plans to slowly close four vents on top of the containment cap to reduce the escaping oil. (Sources: Multiple, including AP, USAToday, 06/05/10) The shorelines of four states have been soiled with oil – some of it with the consistency of melted chocolate, some as tar balls. The Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. Some 19,000 barrels of oil a day is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. Multiple efforts to contain it have failed. It will be August before relief wells are in place. Computer models show the oil could wind up on the East Coast and eventually be carried across the Atlantic toward Europe.