BP stops flow of oil in Gulf of Mexico
by ODN
BP has confirmed that no oil is leaking from it's blown-out Macondo well into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since late April.
Senior vice president of exploration and production, Kent Wells, told reporters a new cap had completely shut in the flow while the company conducts a critical pressure test on the stricken well.
The news comes as US politicians press the Environmental Protection Agency for assurances that BP is using safe agents to disperse its massive oil spill.
At a Senate subcommittee hearing they called for more in-depth studies on BP's use of chemical dispersants and the impact on ocean life in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I don't want dispersants to be the Agent Orange of this oil spill and I want to be assured on behalf of the American people that this is OK to use and OK to use in the amounts we're talking about," said Barbara Mikulski, chairwoman of the science panel of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
BP has sprayed about 1.8 million gallons of the chemical Corexit in the Gulf so far, both undersea and on the surface, the largest amount in US history and for the first time applying the dispersant directly to the source of oil spill.