The Top kill strategy, which involves alternately plugging the well with heavy “drilling mud” and “junk shot” such as shredded tires and golf balls, appears to have stemmed the flow of oil into the gulf. Adm. Thad W. Allen of the Coast Guard, the leader of the government effort, said on Friday morning that the next 12 to 18 hours will be critical. Because this is an untested procedure, Allen gives this effort a 60 to 70 percent chance of success.
Using the most conservative estimate, a minimum of 18 million gallons has leaked into the Gulf over the past five weeks, far surpassing the 11 million gallons believed to have spilled from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
The Top kill strategy, which involves alternately plugging the well with heavy “drilling mud” and “junk shot” such as shredded tires and golf balls, appears to have stemmed the flow of oil into the gulf. Adm. Thad W. Allen of the Coast Guard, the leader of the government effort, said on Friday morning that the next 12 to 18 hours will be critical. Because this is an untested procedure, Allen gives this effort a 60 to 70 percent chance of success.
Using the most conservative estimate, a minimum of 18 million gallons has leaked into the Gulf over the past five weeks, far surpassing the 11 million gallons believed to have spilled from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
